DT e-Paper 08 April 2017

SECOND EDITION
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017 | Chaitra 25, 1423, Rajab 10, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 341 | www.dhakatribune.com | 24 pages plus 8-page Sports supplement | Price: Tk10
Flash flood in the Haors
may worsen rice price
hike › 3
PM optimistic about
solving all pending
issues with India › 2
PID
Syria decries aggression
as US launches cruise
missiles › 8
Thank God for
Mashrafe, the captain
fantastic › 3
Bangladesh’s tour
of Sri Lanka at a
glance › 6
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has faith in the goodwill of
people in both Bangladesh and India and believes that the
friendship between the two neighbours is like a river
SPORTS SUPPLEMENT
Real’s true title
ambitions to be
tested by in-form
Atletico › 7

2
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
DT
News
Sheikh Hasina optimistic about solving
all pending issues with India
• BSS
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is received by Indian Prime Minister
Narenda Modi at Indian Air Force Palam Station in New Delhi yesterday
MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Comparing Bangladesh-India relations
with a flowing river, Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina has said
she is optimistic about solving all
pending issues between the two
countries.
“Mexican Nobel Laureate Octavio
said ‘Friendship is a river.’ I
think that the friendship between
Bangladesh and India is like a flowing
river and full with generosity.
This is the spirit of the people of
the two neighbours,” she wrote in
an article published yesterday in
The Hindu, a leading Indian newspaper.
Sheikh Hasina, now in New
Delhi on a four-day official visit to
India, added: “I think if our commitments
are honest, we would be
able to achieve many things that
are beneficial to our people.”
The premier mentioned that
she believes in peace and said only
peaceful coexistence can ensure
peace.
“There are some issues between
us [Bangladesh and India]. But I
believe that any problem can be resolved
in a peaceful manner. We have
demonstrated our willpower through
the implementation of the Land
Boundary Agreement,” she said.
Hasina said there are some more
issues like sharing waters of common
rivers – i.e. the Teesta issue
– that need to be resolved. “I’m an
optimistic person. I would like to
rest my trust on the goodwill of the
great people and the leaders of our
neighbour. I know resources are
scarce, but we can share those for
the benefit of the people of both
countries,” she said.
The Bangladesh premier extended
her heartiest greetings to
the people of India on the eve of
her four-day trip.
“I hope that the cooperative relations
between Bangladesh and
India would reach a new height
through my visit,” she added.
The prime minister said Bangladesh
and India share the same culture
and heritage and there are a lot
of common traits.
“We share our Lalon, Rabindranath,
Kazi Nazrul, Jibanananda;
there is similarity in our
language, we are nourished by the
waters of the Padma, Brahmaputra,
Teesta; and so on. The Sundarbans
is our common pride. We
don’t have any strife over it. Then,
why should there be any contention
over the waters of common
rivers?” she asked.
Saying poverty was the main
enemy in the region, the premier
put emphasis on collaboration between
the neighbours to root it out.
“I always refer to poverty as the
main enemy of this region. A large
number of people of Bangladesh
and India suffer from malnutrition.
They are deprived of their basic
needs,” she said.
She said lack of nutrition is impeding
the growth of a huge number
of children; on top of that,
they do not have access to proper
healthcare and schooling.
“We have to change this scenario.
We have the ability. The
only thing we need is to change
our mentality. I think eradication
of poverty should be the first and
foremost priority of our political
leaders,” she said.
The premier said in today’s globalised
world, it is difficult to do
something in isolation; Collaboration
and cooperation can make
many things easier. “That’s why I
always put emphasis on regional
cooperation and improved connectivity,”
she said.
The prime minister said in recent
years, especially after 2009,
when the Awami League assumed
office, cooperation between Bangladesh
and India has been bolstered
manifold.
“Rail, road, and waterway connectivity
boosted. Trade, commerce
and investment maximised.
People-to-people contact also got
momentum. Such mutual cooperation
is definitely benefiting our
people. Relations, at a personal or
national level, largely depend on
give-and-take measures,” she said.
Hasina said maintenance of
good relations with the neighbours
– friendship to all, malice to none
– is the policy she pursues throughout
her life.
“[The] Father of the Nation
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
defined the policy. We are also
inspired from his words: ‘The very
struggle of Bangladesh symbolised
the universal struggle for peace
BNP wants Teesta deal as Hasina reaches Delhi
• Tribune Desk
BNP spokesperson Mirza Fakhrul
Islam Alamgir on Friday warned
that they would not accept any
treaty or agreement with India except
for the long-pending Teesta
water sharing deal.
The party earlier announced
New Dhaka-Kolkata bus
service starts today
that they were against signing a
deal or agreement on defence cooperation
during Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina’s India tour.
According to media reports, India
has proposed a $500-million
line of credit for Bangladesh to
purchase military hardware from
mainly Indian state-run producers.
A new bus-service between Dhaka
and Kolkata via Khulna will start today.
Green Line Paribahan will provide
the bus “Soharda” for the route on behalf
of the Bangladesh Road Transport
Corporation (BRTC), reports BSS.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and the Chief Minister of West Bengal
Mamata Banerjee will jointly inaugurate
the Soharda bus service through
a video conference from Delhi.
A 22 member delegation left
Benapole for Kolkata yesterday to
mark the occasion.
On April 4, Cabinet Secretary
Shafiul Alam said the bus route to
Kolkata from Dhaka would go through
Mawa, Gopalganj, Khulna, Jessore and
Benapole. •
Hasina was received by Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi when
she reached Delhi Friday noon on a
four-day state visit. They will sit for a
meeting on Saturday morning.
“We have already clarified our
stance about the prime minister’s
India visit. At this moment, Teesta
is our main problem,” the BNP
Modi tweets to take
bilateral ties to new level
Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi yesterday tweeted that he and
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina are determined to take the
relationship between the two nations
to a new level, reports BSS.
“PM Sheikh Hasina and I are
determined to take the relationship
between our nations to a new level,”
Modi tweeted welcoming Sheikh
Hasina to India.
The Bangladesh PM arrived in New
secretary general told reporters
after placing bouquets on the grave
of party founder Ziaur Rahman at
Dhaka’s Chandrima Udyan, reports
Bangla Tribune.
The two countries have many
unresolved issues including border
killings and trade gap, and the
“people of Bangladesh will not
Delhi yesterday on a four-day official
visit at the invitation of her Indian
counterpart Narendra Modi.
It is Sheikh Hasina’s maiden official
visit to India after her present
government was voted to power
through the January 5 elections in
2014.
The Bangladesh premier last visited
India in January 2010, which was
reciprocated by her Indian counterpart
in June 2015. •
and justice. It was, therefore, only
natural that Bangladesh, from its
very inception, should stand firmly
by the side of the oppressed people
of the world.’”
At international forums, Bangladesh
supports all efforts towards
building a just and peaceful world,
she added.
The prime minister said her only
political desire is to build a society
for common people where no one
will suffer from poverty and all
their basic needs will be met. “In
other words, they will get the opportunity
to have the right to food,
clothing, shelter, medicare, education,
improved livelihood and a
decent life,” she said.
Recalling the contribution of
neighbouring countries in Bangladesh’s
Liberation War, Sheikh Hasina
said India played the leading role
among the allies with their support
and cooperation to Bangalis in their
goal to earn independence.
She said India gave food and
shelter to nearly 10 million refugees
of Bangladesh and extended
all-out cooperation during the war.
“They played an important role
in creating global opinion in favour
of Bangladesh... this helped us to
earn victory and the country was
freed from enemy occupation,” she
said.
The premier also remembered
the role of the government and the
people of India in getting Bangabandhu
released from the Pakistani
prison. •
accept a defence deal or agreement
now leaving the other issues
aside,” Fakhrul said.
He was flanked by Joint Secretary
General Habib-un-Nabi
Khan Sohel, Standing Committee
member Goyeshwar Chandra Roy,
Khaleda’s Adviser Habibur Rahman
among others. •

News 3
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
Paddy production hit by flood in the Haors
• Tribune Desk
Paddy production is at peril in the
Haors and low-lying areas of of
the northeast as heavy rainfalls as
well as onrush of water from the
upstream Meghalaya hills in India
have led to the inundation of a vast
areas of croplands.
Floods have occurred in at least
four of the five districts in the region.
In Moulvibazar, which experiences
the most rainfall in Bangladesh,
at least 12,800 acres of Boro
paddy went under water. Our correspondent
Saiful Islam reported
that farmers were seen collecting
peanuts, pumpkins and yams from
the inundated fields.
Our Kishoreganj correspondent
Bijoy Roy Khoka reported that the
Department of Agricultural Extension
(DAE) had found around
23,300 hectares of paddy fields
completely inundated. The DAE is
projecting a harvest loss of about
Tk291cr there, but locals said the
real figure could be double of that.
In the Haor areas of Itna,
Mithamoin, Austagram and Karimganj
upazilas, this correspondent
was told by locals that about
45,000 hectares of paddy had been
spoiled till Thursday and the total
loss would stand at about Tk625cr.
All big and small rivers, including
the Meghna, Kalni, Kushiara,
People watch from one side from a dam in Sunamganj that broke down, letting the flood into paddy fields
Dhanu, Ghorautra and Dhaleshwari
had spilled over the banks following
several days of heavy rainfall.
Flash floods are a common incident
in the Haor region in the
pre-monsoon period, but poor
management of the rivers and
embankments and the decline in
the navigability of the rivers have
worsened the situation over the
years, locals say.
Most of the paddy fields at Berachapra
and Changnoagaon haors
in Sutarpara union of Karimganj
upazila had been inundated by
the spill over of the Duba River,
claimed the farmers. Many of them
are now putting their last effort to
cut the unripe paddy that can only
be used as fodder for the cattle.
Deputy Director of Kishoreganj
DAE, Md Shafiqul Islam, told the
Dhaka Tribune that Austagram had
been the most adversely affected
DHAKA TRIBUNE
upazila in the flash flood.
“The paddy is still unripe in the
fields and getting inundated by the
spill of river water. We are preparing
a list of the flood affected farmers,”
said Shafiqul.
In Habiganj, almost 13,500 hectares
of almost ripe paddy have
gone under water. Agriculture authorities
fear that more damage
would be done if the rain continues
and have asked farmers in the risky
DT
areas to harvest their paddy in its
current half-ripe state.
The officials told our correspondent,
Md Noor Uddin, that the
estimated loss at this point was Tk-
172cr.
Affected farmers allege corruption
In Sunamganj, farmers affected
by the flood are alleging that their
losses were caused by irregularities
and delays in Water Development
Board’s dam building works.
Flood entered the region on
March 28 and has been growing
since. Many farmers have been
voluntarily participating in dam
repair and reinforcement, but their
efforts are mostly in vein.
Our correspondent Himadri
Shekor Vodro, who travelled to the
Haor areas in Dharmapasha, Jamalganj,
Dirai, Shalla, Bishwamvarpur
and Jagannathpur, saw many farmers
crying in front of their wasted
harvests.
Officials said at least 27,000 hectares
were already under water.
Farmers said the Water Development
Board received a Tk55cr
budget in 2016-17 fiscal for the repair
and construction of Boro protection
dams in 48 Haors in the
district. Although this work was
scheduled to begin in December,
it began in February and therefore
most were incomplete when the
flood struck.•
Flash flood in the Haors may worsen rice price hike
• Abu Siddique
Traders believe the high price of rice is
set to continue after recent flash floods
in the northeastern wetlands destroyed
more than 200,000 hectares of mature
Boro paddy.
The Trading Corporation of
Bangladesh says coarse rice has been
selling for Tk37 to Tk40 and fine rice
for between Tk46 and Tk56 in Dhaka’s
markets for the last couple of weeks.
Although rice prices usually go up
at this time of the year just ahead of
the Boro harvest, both are about Tk10
higher than at the same time last year.
“We were hoping that the prices
would go down soon, when the
early Boro harvest starts in the Haor
region within the next week. But the
sudden flash floods have destroyed
that chance,” said Nirod Boron Saha,
president of Noagaon Rice Whole Seller
Association.
According to the Ministry of
Agriculture, Boro is the largest part of
the country’s rice production. In the
2015-16 fiscal, Boro made up around
19 million tonnes of the total 35 million
tonnes of rice produced in Bangladesh.
Zahidul Haq, deputy director of the
Department of Agricultural Extension
(DAE) office in Sunamganj district, said
the recent downpours have taken their
toll on the harvest.
“At least a 100,000 hectares of
Boro has gone under water in the flash
flood in the last few days,” he said. A
similar situation prevails in Netrokona.
Although they have not yet estimated
the damage, DAE officials in Dhaka
fear that the total Boro paddy loss
might have passed 200,000 hectares.
If Agriculture Ministry’s calculation
of an average of 4 tonnes of Boro
produced per hectare is applied, the
country may lose around 800,000
tonnes of Boro this season.
“This shortage will definitely create
problems in current rice price hike,”
Nirod Baon Saha said.
Why the price hike?
For the first time in several years,
Farmers in Kishoreganj try desperately to save some paddy from an inundated field
farmers got a comparatively good price
in the last Aman season, selling one
maund (37.24 kgs) of paddy for Tk800
to Tk850.
Due to the good price of paddy,
most farmers sold out their harvest
quickly, bringing the rice to the hands
of traders and millers.
“As the millers now have control of
the rice supply, they might be playing a
DHAKA TRIBUNE
role in pushing the prices up,” Nirod Baron
Saha said. Another reason is that rice
import by the private sector ground to a
halt in the past year after the government
imposed a 25% import duty.
Rice reserve is half
According to the Food Ministry, the
government’s grain reserve is now is
almost half of what it was this time last
year. As of April 3, the government’s
rice reserve was 496,000 tonnes; in
April 2016, it was 883,000 tonnes.
This shortage is the result of a
failure to meet procurement targets
for both Boro and Aman paddy last
year. The government has procured
585,000 tonnes of Boro rice against a
target of 1 million tonnes and 440,000
tonnes of Aman against a target of
600,000 tonnes.
“The prices would have eased soon,
but the sudden flash floods have made
the situation worse,” said Agriculture
economist Dr Quazi Shahhabuddin,
who is also the former director general
of Bangladesh Institute of Development
Studies.
“The government should not
have brought the food reserve to this
state. If the reserve was good, it could
introduce large volumes of Open
Market Sale or other mechanisms to
reduce the price.” •

4
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
DT
News
Rajuk reshuffles DAP committee, extends submission date
• Shohel Mamun
The agency responsible for the urban
development of Dhaka is so
unhappy with the lack of progress
in the preparation of the new 20-
year plan for the capital, it has reshuffled
the committee in charge
and extended the submission
deadline until December.
Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha
(Rajuk) formed a committee in 2015
to prepare a 20-year plan for Dhaka
called ‘Preparation of DAP (2016-
2035) for Dhaka Metropolitan Development
Plan (DMDP)’.
The committee started working
on the project in March 2015 and was
supposed to submit the complete
plan for the two-decade period in
A CNG struggles to
travel on a muddy
road in Hazaribagh,
Dhaka. Road conditions
worsened after
the rainstorm on
Thursday. The usually
waterlogged road has
not been repaired for
some time, despite
government promises.
The photo was taken
yesterday
MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
March this year. However, a Rajuk official
has anonymously told the Dhaka
Tribune that the committee has
“failed to deliver the plan in time”.
DAP is a crucial part of the
DMDP; its purpose is to provide a
systematic plan for modern living
facilities in the ever-expanding
capital. Rajuk, responsible for Dhaka’s
development, periodically prepares
and upgrades the DAP.
The aim of the new DAP is to cover
all of the loopholes in DAP 2010-
2015 that a government-appointed
expert committee identified in 2013.
The committee, headed by
prominent urban development expert
and University of Asia Pacific
Vice-Chancellor Prof Jamilur Reza
Choudhury, found that there were
2,724 structures, including residential
and industrial constructions,
within Rajuk jurisdiction which
had been incorrectly categorised in
the DAP 2010-2015.
“The original DAP 2016-2035
committee did not put enough focus
on fixing those loopholes,” said
the Rajuk official.
“Moreover, we have received
complaints from several lawmakers
that the old committee did not
conduct proper surveys in many
areas. Whatever plan they prepared
was mostly desk work (and)
that is why the Rajuk authorities
rearranged the old committee.”
The new committee has nine
months to come up with a proper
DAP. Rajuk’s new initiative, however,
has received mixed reactions
from some urban experts.
“I have reservations about this
new DAP,” Iqbal Habib, a prominent
architect and member secretary of
Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon, told
the Dhaka Tribune on Monday.
“Will the new committee take
population density in each area
within Rajuk jurisdiction into consideration?
Will they test the quality
of soil in these areas? These issues
are important.
“For example, if the new DAP
allows high-rise buildings in Purbachal
area, that would be wrong,
because in some areas of Purbachal
the soil is loose and sandy – not
suitable for building multi-storey
buildings at all,” he said.
Ershad says his new
alliance is not antigovernment
• MA Ahad Chowdhury
Tuhin, Bhola
Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad
has announced that he
will form a “grand alliance”
of 30 political parties to work
with the Awami League government
and “lead the country
towards prosperity”.
Although Ershad’s party is
considered as the opposition
in parliament with BNP having
boycotted the last general
election, some of his party
colleagues are also members
of the Cabinet.
“Though we have different
political ideologies, we are
on the same page regarding
development,” Ershad said
at the party’s Bhola district
council on Bangla School
ground yesterday.
“We have the same aim –
the development of Bangladesh
and its people. Creating
a new alliance does not mean
it will be against the government,”
said Ershad, who is
now a special envoy to the
prime minister.
However, the 87-year-old
former military dictator also
said he wanted to see his party
returned to power “before
I die”.
“Once upon a time, the
Jatiya Party was a strong political
party like the Awami
League. We want to make it
strong again,” he said.
After a Presidium meeting
on March 24, Ershad said
that JaPa would form an alliance
with two small political
fronts. Party sources say
the alliance may comprise
Dr Golam Moinuddin, associate
professor of urban and regional planning
at Jahangirnagar University, said
that by the time a plan is finished, the
condition of some land such as lowland
filled with soil for construction
in Dhaka may have changed.
“Rajuk works at a snail’s pace
(and) this creates confusion,” he said.
Ashraful Islam, the project director
of the new DAP 2016-2035
committee, said they would take
all these issues into consideration.
“We have been visiting different
areas for the past two months. We
are also speaking with locals and
public representatives so we can
prepare a realistic and sustainable
plan,” he told the Dhaka Tribune on
Monday. •
some religion-based parties
including Islami Oikya Jote,
Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish
and Nizam-e-Islam Bangladesh,
and some other small
parties.
As the military dictator,
Ershad introduced state religion
into the constitution in
1988, and in 2013 he actively
supported the 13-point movement
spearheaded by Qawmi
madrasa-based radical Islamist
platform Hefazat-e-Islam
despite being the key ally
of the 14-party alliance.
He also took blessings of
Hefazat chief Ahmad Shah
Shafi, who campaigns for
Shariah law in Bangladesh,
during a visit to Hefazat’s
Hathazari madrasa in Chittagong
before the January 5,
2014 elections.
Regarding BNP’s politics,
Ershad said yesterday: “They
tortured and burned people
to death. We do not want such
a party in power. Rather we
will support the government
which will work for development
and stand beside people.”
He also lauded senior
Awami League leader Tofail
Ahmed, also the commerce
minister, for the development
activities in Bhola.
With JaPa district unit
Convenor Kefayetullah Nazib
in the chair, the programme
was also addressed by State
Minister for Local Government,
Rural Development
and Cooperatives Mashiur
Rahman Ranga and JaPa Secretary
General ABM Ruhul
Amin Hawlader. •

Organisers ready for Mongol Shobhajatra amid protests
• Afrose Jahan Chaity
TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY
Preparations are underway in full swing
to observe Mongol Shobhajatra, an iconic
colourful procession being organised
since 1989 in Dhaka’s Shahbagh on Pohela
Boishakh, the first day of every Bangla
New Year.
More than 150 students of the Fine
Arts Faculty of Dhaka University are
working around the clock in presence
of the police to make this year’s celebrations
a success.
The procession was recognised by
the Unesco as an Intangible Cultural
Heritage of Humanity in November last
year. Later the government decided to
observe the day will utmost importance
while the Directorate of Secondary and
Higher Education asked all educational
institutions to bring out Mongol
Shobhajatra on April 14.
The government move, however, has
irked the hardline Islamist groups who
have threatened to thwart the celebrations
terming Mongol Shobhajatra anti-Islamic
and part of a Hindu culture.
This year, the organisers are focusing
on celebrating truth and justice with the
slogan “Anondo Loke, Mongol Aloke, Birajo
Sottyo Sundro” (in the abode of joy
and benevolence lies the beautiful truth).
During a visit yesterday, they are making
motifs of birds and animals, folk characters
and masks among other colourful
components that the participants would
carry during the procession.
The students are also making different
small products to raise funds for the
News 5
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
Students at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka are busy preparing masks for the upcoming Mongol Shobhajatra
procession during Pohela Boishakh on April 14
RAJIB DHAR
Police want to ban New JMB
• Arifur Rahman Rabbi
The government is the process of
banning New or Neo Jama’atul Mujahideen
Bangladesh (JMB) following a
formal request by The Counter Terrorism
and Transnational Crime (CTTC)
unit to Home Ministry through Bangladesh
Police headquarters.
Assistant Inspector General (confidential)
of police headquarters M
Moniruzzaman confirmed the news
to Dhaka Tribune.
“The process to ban New JMB is
underway,” adding the ministry is
now considering the proposal.
Currently, seven militant groups
are banned in the country.
According to police, New JMB
formed in 2013 as a faction from the
banned militant outfit JMB.
New JMB has carried out attacks
inspired by IS according to police
while IS has claimed 29 of the
group’s attacks since 2015 with the
killings of dissidents and foreign citizens
that culminated to the Holey
attack on June 1, 2016.
High officials of police told the
Dhaka Tribune they want to ban
New JMB under section 18 of the Anti-Terrorism
Act making it easier for
law enforcers to take action against
members of the group.
This is also ensure the group cannot
actively seek new recruits or get
together in public.
If New JMB gets banned it will be
the 8th group in Bangladesh that has
been banned including Ansar al-Islam
which was banned on March 5,
Ansarullah Bangla Team in 2015 and
Hijb-ut Tahrir in 2009.
Jamaatula Mujahideen Bangladesh
(JMB), Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami
Bangladesh (Huji-B), Shahadat-e
al-Hikma (SAH) and Jagrata Muslim
Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) were all
banned in 2005.
Police sources working on anti-militancy
said Canadian citizen
Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury played
the leading role in forming New JMB.
Their spiritual leader police sources
claim was Maulana Abul Kasem,
Sarwar Jahan alias Abdur Rahman alias
Manik, Abdus Samad alias Mamu
alias Arif and Mamunur Rashid Ripon
also played a pivotal role in forming
this new faction with Tamim.
On March 3, Maulana Abul
Kashem was arrested in Dhaka.
Members from JMB joined the
New JMB including the JMB’s top
leader and bomb expert Shohel
Mahfuj, Hadisur Rahman Sagor,
procession.
The organisers, who are concerned
over the threats by Islamists, say more
than 100 other students would join them
in the last three days.
they added.
Police suspect Mainul Islam Musa
is the leader of New JMB after many
of it’s leaders were killed in anti-militant
drives or in cross-fires.
He is suspected to have died during
Operation Twilight at Atia Mahal
in Sylhet on March 25, waiting DNA
confirmation.
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)
however calls New JMB as Sarwar-Tamim
group.
During their drives in Gazipur,
Tangail and Ashulia at least five militant
were killed including New JMB
leaders Sarwar Jahan alias Abdur
Rahman alias Manik.
CTTC unit have conducted at
least 11 drives against New JMB in
the last 9 months killing 37 militants
including the mastermind of the
Holey attack Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury
and another notable New
JMB leader Nurul Islam alias Marjan,
source at CTTC said.
A dozen other top and second-tier
leaders of the New JMB group are
still absconding. They include Basharuzzaman
alias Abul Bashar alias
Chocolate, Sohel Mahfuz alias Hatkata
Mahfuz, Ripon, Khalid, Junayed
Hasan Khan, Iqbal, Manik, Mamun,
Azadul Kabiraz and Badal. •
On November 30, the Intergovernmental
Committee on
Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage
of the Unesco agreed that Mongol
Shobhajatra “symbolises the pride of
Dhaka 38 25 Chittagong 32 25 Rajshahi 38 25 Rangpur 31 22 Khulna 38 25 Barisal 38 25 Sylhet 33 22
DT
the people of Bangladesh in their living
heritage as well as their strength and
courage to fight sinister forces, and their
vindication of truth and justice.”
Earlier, the government announced
special allowance for public servants on
the occasion of Pohela Boishakh.
The Islamist groups campaigning
against the Pohela Boishakh celebrations
and Mongol Shobhajatra include Hefazate-Islam,
Islami Oikyo Jote, Islami Andolon
Bangladesh and Awami Olama League.
Some influential clerics who have
long been opposing Pohela Boishakh are
Abdur Razzak Bin Yusuf, Delawar Hossain
Sayedee, Kazi Md Ibrahim, Rafiqullah
Afsari, Mozaffar Bin Mohosin, Khondokar
Abdullah Jahangir and Sifat Hasan.
In recent statements, militant groups
Islamic State and al-Qaeda’s Bangladesh
offshoot Ansar al-Islam have criticised
the Muslims for allowing the Pohela
Boishakh celebrations.
Members of banned militant group
HujiB killed 10 people and injured
dozens of others in a bomb attack on
the decade-old traditional performance
of Chhayanaut cultural academy bracing
Pohela Boishakh at Ramna Batamul in
2001.
But the people did not stop attending
the day’s programmes in Dhaka or elsewhere.
Mongol Shobhajatra is also replicated
by Bangladeshis living abroad. •
8 suspected members of
Sarwar-Tamim’s New JMB held
• Arifur Rahman Rabbi and
Tanveer Hossain, Narayanganj
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) detained
eight New JMB members in
Narayanganj and Comilla on Thursday
evening and yesterday morning.
The detainees, who identified
with the Sarwar-Tamim faction of
the militant group, were planning
subversive activities and were caught
with a bomb-making materials and
jihadi books, according to RAB.
Five of them – JMB coordinator
Md Jamal alias Rasel Siraji, 45,
Khandker Abu Nayeen aliam Nayeem
Jihadi, 49, Nurul Absar, 27,
and Narayanganj’s Mohsin, 52, and
Jabir Hawladar, 22 – were detained
from Siddhirganj, Narayanganj.
Based on information obtained
from them, RAB detained the
three others in Gouripur, Comilla:
Aktaruzzaman Maruf, 32, Mawlana
Omar Faruk, 32, and Kashem
Munshi, 31. •
Cox’s Bazar 32 25
RAIN LIKELY
SATURDAY, APRIL 8
DHAKA
TODAY
TOMORROW
SUN SETS 6:17PM
SUN RISES 5:43AM
YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW
36.6ºC
20.9ºC
Rajshahi
Srimangal
Source: Accuweather/UNB
PRAYER
TIMES
Fajr: 5:15am | Zohr: 1:15pm
Asr: 5:00pm | Magrib: 6:24pm
Esha: 8:15pm
Source: Islamic Foundation

6
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
DT
News
Paedophile headmaster
arrested in Ashulia
• Nadim Hossain, Savar
Police have arrested the
owner-cum-headmaster of a
residential school in Savar’s
Ashulia area on charges of repeated
rape and sexual assault
of at least seven students aged
eight to nine.
Amir Hossain is the founder
headmaster of Amir Day
Care School in Kurgaon area.
He had long been sexually
assaulting girls using various
tactics, police and guardians
said yesterday.
His sickening activities
surfaced after one of the seven
students, a nine-year-old
girl, had fallen sick after being
raped Thursday.
She informed her mother
about the matter and later
guardians found that at least
seven girls had been raped or
assaulted by the school owner
recently, Ashulia police Officerin-Charge
Mohsinul Kadir told
the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
Police arrested Amir immediately
after getting complaints
and sent the children to the
One-Stop Crisis Centre of Dhaka
Medical College Hospital.
The girl raped Thursday has
been admitted to the hospital
as her condition deteriorated.
Amir started the school four
years ago in a flat of a four-storey
building in Kurgaon area,
and had since been sexually
assaulting the students. He increased
the level of assaults on
the students after his pregnant
wife went to her village home
four months ago, police say.
A case has been lodged
with Ashulia police. •
Satkhira man who staged
wife’s suicide arrested
• Asaduzzaman, Satkhira
Police are investigating the
death of a housewife in Satkhira’s
Polashpole area early yesterday
as her husband, who
claimed that she had committed
suicide, left the body at a
hospital.
Faruq Hossain, 24, brought
the body of Munia Yasmin
Tumpa, 20, to Satkhira Sadar
Hospital around 2am yesterday,
and told relatives over the phone
that she had committed suicide.
But he then fled the scene,
leaving the body at the hospital.
Locals handed him over to
the police in the afternoon.
Tumpa’s paternal uncle
Ibrahim Hossain told the Dhaka
Tribune that Tumpa and
Faruq married two years ago
and had an eight-month-old
son. Soon after the marriage,
Faruq started torturing his
wife for dowry.
“Her father is not financially
solvent. Yet, he managed
Tk50,000 and gave it to Faruq so
that he could start a business. But
he wanted more,” Ibrahim said.
“Faruq himself took her
body to Satkhira Sadar Hospital
around 2am Friday and told
her relatives that she had hung
herself from the ceiling fan.”
He alleged that Faruq had
beaten her and strangled her
to death, and later staged the
suicide to save his own neck.
Satkhira sadar police Officer-in-Charge
Firoz Hossain
Molla, confirming the authenticity
of the incident, said that
doctors had conducted autopsy
on the body around 1pm.
“We will be able to confirm
the reason behind her death
upon receiving the post-mortem
examination report,” he
added. •
Nine school students
arrested for vandalism
• Anisur Rahman Swapan,
Barisal
Police have arrested nine students
out of 13 accused in a
case filed for vandalism and
attacks on people and properties
in several areas of Barisal
city on Wednesday.
Sub-Inspector Abu Taher of
Kotwali police yesterday said
that the accused had been arrested
during raids conducted
across the city since Wednesday
night.
The accused are students of
Barisal Model School and College,
Udayan School, Brojomohan
Institution and Asmat Ali
Khan Institution.
On Thursday, Khalilur Rahman
Sumon, a resident of Brown
Compound area and medicine
trader, lodged the case against
13 accused in connection with
the sporadic attacks. •
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News 7
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
Family, locals demand justice for Tanni
DT
• Md Hedait Hossain Molla,
Khulna
Family members of Sarah Fergusan
Tanni and locals in Khulna
city have demanded the arrest and
speedy trial of the perpetrators
who provoked her to commit suicide
two years ago.
The main accused in the case is
her husband Sohel Biswas, the son
of Abdul Gaffar, a former lawmaker.
Sohel was arrested on May 8,
2015. After being released on bail,
Shohel married his fourth wife.
In an interview with the Dhaka
Tribune yesterday, Sohel’s father
confirmed his son had gotten married
in November 2016.
The Khulna Chief Metropolitan
Magistrate Court is scheduled to
hold a hearing in the case on April 18.
Earlier the court ordered the
police to publish a newspaper
announcement seeking Sohel’s
whereabouts, which has yet to be
published.
Tanni’s family claims she was
murdered for protesting against
her husband’s extramarital affair.
Her body was found hanging
from the ceiling on April 7, 2015.
Gaffar said: “Tanni’s family is
making false allegations against
my son to defame our family. The
autopsy report clearly says it was a
suicide, not a murder.”
He also organised a Milad Mahfil
yesterday to mark Tanni’s second
death anniversary.
Sohel and Tanni
Though the autopsy report said
that she had committed suicide,
torture marks were visible when the
body was recovered.
Meanwhile, locals and Tanni’s
family took part in a human chain
in Picture Palace area of the city.
Tanni’s uncle Assaduzzam said:
“Even after being arrested, the
High Court released Sohel on bail
due to a weak investigation by the
CID [Criminal Investigation Department].”
The protesters also demanded
that the government enforce the laws
properly as 80% of women are tortured
by their husbands every year.
Iti Biswas, Tanni’s sister-in-law,
also named in the case as an accused,
remains a fugitive.
When Tanni’s mother Shamima
Akhter tried to file a complaint
against Sohel and Iti, the police refused
to file it.
Later, following a Metropolitan
Magistrate Court order, a case was
recorded where Shamima accused
them of the murder.
The complainant stated that the
accused had beaten her daughter and
then strangled her to death at Gaffar’s
house on the night of April 7, 2015.
After a police investigation, a
charge sheet was filed on May 5 the
same year, stating that Tanni had
been provoked to commit suicide
due to Sohel’s torture and abuse.
On May 11 that year, Tanni’s family
filed a petition against the charge
sheet as the police had dropped Iti’s
name. The court then ordered the
CID to reinvestigate the case.
In April 2016, the CID submitted
a charge sheet, terming it a suicide.
Tanni’s family challenged the
charge sheet. •

DT
8
World
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
SOUTH ASIA
Maldives arrests key
opposition figure in
crackdown
The last free opposition leader in the
Maldives has been arrested as part
of a major government crackdown
on rival politicians who narrowly
failed to seize control of parliament
in the honeymoon islands. Qasim
Ibrahim, who ran for president in
2013 and currently heads the Jumhooree
Party (JP), was one of four
signatories of an opposition unity
deal aimed at toppling President
Abdulla Yameen. AFP
INDIA
Avalanches kill three
Indian soldiers in Kashmir
Three soldiers have died after
avalanches struck a high-altitude
army post in Indian-administered
Kashmir, an officer said Friday, after
heavy snowfall in the disputed
Himalayan region. Multiple avalanches
hit a post in Batalik near
the Line of Control, the de-facto
border that divides Kashmir, on
Thursday, burying five soldiers, an
army spokesman said. AFP
CHINA
China expresses concern
over Philippines’ Duterte
comments
China’s Foreign Ministry on Friday
said it hoped the Philippines could
continue to properly manage maritime
disputes with China, after
reports the Philippines president
had said troops would occupy
uninhabited shoals it claims in the
disputed South China Sea. REUTERS
ASIA PACIFIC
South Korea hails new EU
sanctions on North Korea
New sanctions imposed by the EU
on North Korea are a “resolute”
warning in response to repeated
tests by the regime. “We assess as
the EU’s resolute warning message
put to action in response to the
North’s repeated provocations,”
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se
said in a statement. EFE
MIDDLE EAST
Iraqi helicopter downed in
fight to retake Mosul
The Islamic State group shot down
an Iraqi helicopter operating over
Mosul Thursday, as security forces
announced they recaptured another
neighbourhood in their nearly
six-month-old offensive against the
jihadist stronghold. The operation
to retake west Mosul, which the
helicopter was supporting when it
was downed, has become a slow,
grinding battle that has taken a
heavy toll on civilians and pushed
more than 200,000 to flee. AFP
Syria decries aggression as US
launches cruise missiles
• Tribune Desk
Syria decried a US missile attack
early Friday morning on a government-controlled
air base where
US officials say the Syrian military
launched a deadly chemical attack
earlier this week, calling it an aggression
that led to “losses.”
About 60 US Tomahawk
missiles hit the Shayrat air base,
southeast of Homs, a small
installation with two runways,
where aircraft often take off to
bomb targets in northern and
central Syria. The US missiles
hit at 3:45am local time Friday
morning and targeted the base’s
airstrips, hangars, control tower
and ammunition areas.
They were fired from two warships
in the Mediterranean Sea, in
retaliation for Tuesday’s deadly
chemical attack that officials said
used chlorine mixed with a nerve
agent, possibly sarin.
Talal Barazi, the governor of
Homs province, where the targeted
air base is located, told The Associated
Press by phone that most
of the strikes appeared to target
the province in central Syria. He
also said the strikes were meant
to “support the terrorists on the
Trump-Xi summit eclipsed by US strike
• Tribune Desk
As US Tomahawk missiles pounded
an airbase in Syria, President Donald
Trump and his Chinese counterpart
Xi Jinping sat down for dinner at
Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
The two leaders were meeting for
the first time, but what should have
been a prime opportunity to forge a
personal connection and recalibrate
the world’s most important bilateral
relationship has been overshadowed
by the biggest military action of
Trump’s presidency.
Trump made the decision to strike an
airfield Syrian aircraft used to launch a
chemical attack shortly before his dinner
with Xi. Trump and Xi are scheduled
to sit down together again Friday for a
working lunch before Xi departs midday.
But, now, with the focus on the conflict
in Syria, the potential gains from
the summit are in jeopardy. The two
were expected to discuss North Korea
and its aggressive pursuit of nuclear
technology and missile expertise.
China condemned the use of
chemical weapons in any form and
said the country is opposed to the use
of force in international affairs.
Bargaining position
Zhang Baohui, a professor of political
science at Hong Kong’s Lingnan University,
said the big issue was whether
the Syria strike would affect China’s
bargaining position on North Korea.
President Trump went into the
meeting saying Beijing needs to do
more to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear
and missile programs, which have
been accelerating.
Hours before the two presidents
met, Trump predicted that “China will
be stepping up” to help stop North
Korea’s nuclear programme.
The concern for the Chinese,
Zhang said, is that Trump just gave
the world proof he’s not afraid to take
military action unilaterally.
“This strike may ironically strengthen
Trump’s bargaining position,” Zhang
said. “The decision to launch a strike
may not be linked to the summit per
se, but the outcome, this development,
may strengthen his position, because
many Chinese strategic thinkers,
they do think the US is considering a
pre-emptive option on North Korea.” •
Three killed by truck driven into crowd in Stockholm
Police cordons the truck which crashed into the Ahlens department store at
Drottninggatan in central Stockholm on April 7
AFP
• Reuters, Stockholm
A truck drove into a crowd on a
shopping street and crashed into a
US Navy guided-missile conducts strike operations against Syria on April 7 AFP
department store in central Stockholm
on Friday, killing three people
and wounding eight in what
the prime minister said appeared
to be a terrorist attack.
Part of central Stockholm was
cordoned off and the area was
evacuated, including the main
train station. All subway traffic was
halted on orders from the police.
“Sweden has been attacked.
Everything points to the fact that
this is a terrorist attack,” Prime
Minister Stefan Lofven told reporters
during a visit in western
Sweden. He was immediately returning
to the capital.
King Carl Gustaf, Sweden’s head
of state, expressed his horror at the
attack. “Our thoughts are going out
to those that were affected, and to
their families,” he said in a statement
from the royal palace.
In Brussels, the EU offered
Sweden support and solidarity. •
ground.” He told Al Arabiya TV
that a fire raged for two hours in
the base, until it was put out.
The bombing represents President
Donald Trump’s most dramatic
military order since taking
office. The Obama administration
threatened attacking Assad’s forces
for previous chemical weapons attacks,
but never followed through.
Trump called on “all civilised nations”
to join the US in seeking an
end to the carnage in Syria.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry
Peskov said in an interview on
Thursday that “unconditional
support is not possible in this current
world.” But he added that “it
is not correct to say that Moscow
can convince Assad to do whatever
is wanted in Moscow. This is
totally wrong.” •
US Senate
confirms Neil
Gorsuch to
Supreme Court
• Tribune Desk
The Republican-led Senate on
Friday gave Donald Trump the
biggest triumph of his young presidency,
confirming his Supreme
Court nominee over stout Democratic
opposition and restoring a
conservative majority on the highest
US judicial body.
The Senate, which last year refused
to consider Democratic former
President Barack Obama’s nominee
to the court, voted 54-45 to approve
Republican Trump’s pick, Colorado-based
federal appeals court
judge Neil Gorsuch, to the lifetime
job. Three Democrats joined the Republicans
in voting for Gorsuch.
Gorsuch’s confirmation ends
the longest Supreme Court vacancy
since 1862 during the American
Civil War, with the court down a
justice for almost 14 months since
long-serving conservative Justice
Antonin Scalia died on February
13, 2016.
“He’s going to make an incredible
addition to the court,” Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
said on the Senate floor.
McConnell said Gorsuch, who
also worked in the Justice Department
under Republican former
President George W. Bush and is
the son of the first woman to head
the Environmental Protection
Agency, has “sterling credentials,
an excellent record and an ideal
judicial temperament.” •

World
Wave of attacks across Thailand
after new constitution signed
• AFP, Bangkok
Nearly two dozen bomb and arson
attacks erupted across Thailand’s
insurgency-torn south shortly after
midnight, the army said Friday,
causing widespread blackouts but
no casualties in the Muslim-majority
region.
The violence, which saw more
than 50 electricity poles toppled by
explosives and tires set alight, struck
only hours after Thailand’s King
Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new
military-backed charter into law.
“There are 23 simultaneous incidents
in three southern provinces
and four districts of Songkhla,”
said Colonel Pramote Prom-in, an
army spokesman for the south.
The border provinces have sizzled
with violence for over a decade
as ethnic Malay rebels battle
India inks weapons deal
worth $2bn with Israel
• AFP, New Delhi
India will buy nearly $2 billion
worth of weapons technology
from Israel in what’s being described
as the “largest defence
contract” ever signed by the military
exporting giant.
The deal will see state-owned
Israel Aerospace Industries provide
India with an advanced defence
system of medium-range
surface-to-air missiles, launchers
and communications technology,
the company said in a statement
Thursday.
The “mega” missile agreement
is “considered to be the largest defence
contract in Israel’s defence
industries’ history”, the company
said.
The Israeli firm will also supply
a naval defence system including
long-range surface-to-air missiles
for India’s first aircraft carrier,
which is still under construction.
Comment was not immediately
available from India’s defence
ministry.
Israel Aerospace Industries
said some components will be
assembled in India, in line with
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
push to reduce reliance on costly
imports.
Modi’s government has raised
the limit on foreign investment
in the defence sector and encouraged
tie-ups between foreign and
local companies under a ‘Make in
India’ campaign.
India, the world’s largest defence
importer, has been investing
tens of billions in updating its
Soviet-era military hardware to
counter long-standing tensions
with regional rivals China and Pakistan.
•
Kosovo bows to US, Nato
pressure, puts off plan to
create army
• Reuters, Prishtina
Kosovo President Hashim Thaci
bowed to pressure from traditional
allies the US and Nato on Friday
by putting off plans to establish
an army strongly opposed by the
country’s minority Serbs.
Nearly two decades after the
Kosovo war, relations between
Serbia and the ethnic Albanian-majority
government in Kosovo
remain strained. Serbia continues
to regard Kosovo, which
declared independence in 2008,
as a renegade province.
Thaci last month found a way
to bypass Serb opposition in parliament
to constitutional amendments
required for an army by
drafting changes to an existing law
on the Kosovo Security Forces that
would allow the KSF to acquire
heavy weapons. This would effectively
turn it into a military force.
But Washington and Nato, which
has kept forces in Kosovo since intervening
in 1999 to stop Serbia’s
killings of ethnic Albanian civilians
in a counter-insurgency campaign,
voiced concern that the move could
unravel Kosovo’s fragile peace.
The Pristina government ordered
the creation of a national
army in 2014 but minority Serb deputies
said they would block the required
constitutional amendments.
On Friday, Thaci, a former
Kosovo guerilla commander, sent
a letter to parliament asking it not
to vote on his amendments so as
to allow Western diplomats more
time to convince Serbs to approve
the amendments. •
South Africans protest Zuma as country downgraded to junk
• Tribune Desk
Tens of thousands of South Africans
demonstrated peacefully
Friday in a national outpouring
of anger at their scandal-tainted
president, and a second
agency lowered the country’s
credit rating to junk status a
week after the firing of the
respected finance minister.
While concerns grew about
the struggling economy and
government corruption, the
protests were unlikely to
Thai Navy rangers survey the scene where a high voltage tower was blown up in
Thailand’s restive southern province of Narathiwat on April 7
AFP
Thai troops for more autonomy
from the Buddhist-majority state.
The fighting has claimed more
than 6,800 lives, mostly civilians,
since 2004. The region was one of
pose an immediate threat to
President Jacob Zuma, who
retains the backing of powerful
factions within the ruling African
National Congress party.
But divisions over his conduct
are growing within the party,
whose moral authority, a legacy
of its leading role in the fight
against white minority rule, has
eroded during his tenure.
Nobel laureate and anti-apartheid
leader Desmond
Tutu, 85 and ailing, made a
rare public appearance to support
the protests. His foundation
posted a scathing tweet
in his name: “We will pray for
few areas to reject the ruling junta’s
constitution in a referendum
that saw the document approved
last year. The new charter curbs
the power of elected lawmakers
Tens of thousands of S Africans demonstrated on Friday
the downfall of a government
that misrepresents us.”
In Johannesburg, police fired
and will bolster the army’s role in
government even after the junta
steps down following elections
expected in late 2018.
However Don Pathan, a Thai analyst
based in the far south, said Friday’s
wave of attacks did not appear
to be linked to the charter’s signing.
The violence was most likely
revenge for the killing of two suspected
rebels by security forces
last month, he said.
The southern region has been
hit with a string of suspected rebel
assaults since that fatal shooting
on March 29, including one that
saw around 30 militants open
fire on a police checkpoint in Yala
province, injuring 12 officers.
The junta, which seized power in
2014, has held several rounds of negotiations
with a group that claims
to represent the insurgents. •
AFP
rubber bullets to disperse about
100 ruling party members who
were making their way toward
protesters, the African News
Agency reported. Separately,
ruling party members assaulted
several protesters participating
in a march organized by the
Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s
biggest opposition group.
Other ANC members in military
uniforms who had been posted
outside their party headquarters
helped to escort the protesters
to safety. •
9
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
USA
Twitter sues US govt,
refuses to unmask anti-
Trump account
DT
Twitter filed a federal lawsuit
against the US government on
Thursday after it demanded that
the social networking company
unmask an account opposed to
the president’s tough immigration
policies. Twitter filed the lawsuit
against the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) and the Office
of Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) in a San Francisco federal
court, urging the government to
respect freedom of expression. EFE
THE AMERICAS
Paraguay faces new
protests in re-election row
Paraguay will face the threat of fresh
unrest Monday as rival demonstrators
march for and against President
Horacio Cartes’s controversial bid
to allow himself re-election, which
triggered deadly riots last week. A
political crisis has erupted in the
South American country over plans
to amend the constitution to allow
re-election, a taboo since the 35-year
dictatorship of General Alfredo
Stroessner ended in 1989. AFP
UK
Sturgeon rules out legal
action to secure second
Scottish referendum
Nicola Sturgeon has said she has
no intention of taking legal action
to try to secure a second Scottish
independence referendum. The
First Minister indicated that rather
than being settled by the courts,
the matter should be decided by
politicians. INDEPENDENT
EUROPE
Greece agrees reforms to
break bailout impasse
Greece agreed on a fresh set of reforms
with its eurozone creditors on
Friday with hopes that Athens could
unlock bailout cash in time to avert
a debt default just months away.
Eurozone finance ministers meeting
in the Maltese capital of Valletta said
Athens agreed in principle to the
new reforms and technical teams
would visit Greece as soon as possible
to seal the deal. AFP
AFRICA
Police clash with anti-Zuma
protesters in South Africa
Police fired rubber bullets and tear
gas at some protesters in downtown
Johannesburg, injuring a
man and a woman, as thousands of
people marched in South African
cities to protest against President
Jacob Zuma on Friday. The opposition
Democratic Alliance party,
which called for the marches, held
a rally of more than 10,000 people
in another part of Johannesburg
which was calm. REUTERS

DT
10
Editorial
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
TODAY
A space for
everyone
Facebook is slowly evolving as a
bigger media, much stronger than our
traditional ones. In fact, it has now
become an inclusive space that has
provided a voice to the voiceless
PAGE 11
Lucrative diplomacy
There may come a time when the
national and provincial assemblies shall
be treated by the elected representatives
as the dock of accountability, not as a
springboard of unbridled opportunity
PAGE 12
More than neighbours
REUTERS
Can we be winners?
Looking at the data from Bangladesh, it
is clear that we are still struggling at the
beginning of the demographic transition
PAGE 13
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Expectations are high for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s
visit to India, and with good reason.
Some 33 agreements are likely to be signed during
Hasina’s four-day visit, but will this usher in a new era of
cooperation between India and Bangladesh, and resolve our longstanding
issues?
So far, sadly the relationship has been a bit asymmetrical --
Bangladesh has consistently shown its resolve to maintain good
relations with India, and has put India to ease regarding all of its
security concerns, ensuring that Bangladesh territory would never
be used to conduct aggressive acts towards India.
Our government has also met India’s transit requirements,
granting it access to the Seven Sister states in the northeast
through Bangladesh.
And yet, Bangladesh continues to suffer.
The Teesta water issue is yet to be resolved, depriving
Bangladesh of its rightful share of river water.
It is because of this never-ending gridlock that Bangladesh has
not been able to plan its agricultural projects properly.
This is a serious crisis for a riparian country where livelihoods
are inextricably linked to rivers.
Other than Teesta, progress stands to be made in the fields of
ICT, science and technology, satellite and aeronautical research,
defense cooperation, and power and energy.
Good relations with India, then, are imperative to the future
economic development of Bangladesh.
With 54 rivers in common, and our fates inextricably tied
together, India and Bangladesh are indeed more than just
neighbours -- and it is hoped that Hasina’s visit to New Delhi will
be a significant step forward in this relationship.
Will this usher in a new era
of cooperation between
India and Bangladesh and
resolve our long-standing
issues?

A space for everyone
Facebook is now more powerful than traditional media
Opinion 11
DT
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
LARGER
THAN LIFE
• Ekram Kabir
The recent hullaballoo
about blocking one of the
most popular social media
sites, Facebook, reminds
me of a few social trends that
existed when we were children.
When we were in class five, in
1975, we wanted to read Masud
Rana stories by Kazi Anwar
Hossain.
Masud Rana was one of the
leading spy thriller series at that
time, which everyone was reading.
The stories were attractive with
intense spy actions along with
some indicative descriptions of
love-making. These particular
descriptions were one of the prime
attractions for us to read Masud
Rana.
There were also other
spy-mystery series such
as Doshshu Bonhur, Doshshu
Bahram, Kuasha etc, but Masud
Rana was our favourite.
Doshshu Bonhur also contained
quite a lot of figurative description
of love related elements, but our
parents never prevented us from
reading them, but they always
thought Masud Rana stories
would spoil their children. I never
understood this contrast.
Since other stories didn’t
contain any love related elements,
they never prevented us from
reading those. It was much later
in life I understood that they had
never read any one of them.
If they had, they would
never have prohibited us from
reading Masud Rana stories;
they’d rather ban Doshshu
Bonhur stories.
However, our attraction was
always the one that was prohibited
by our parents and teachers. We
used to read Masud Rana stories
during the time we spent in
school, as it was quite difficult to
bring them home.
Having said that, I feel I should
tell you another story.
I was once a student of a
boarding school where strict
discipline and punctuality were
the most important aspects of our
lives. We had time for everything
-- time for games and sports, time
for studying, time for eating,
time for prayers, time for movies,
watching TV, and putting out the
lights.
Our television set, put inside
a wooden box, was always under
Banning anything will have the opposite effect
lock and key; we could never
watch any program or any movie
unless the room was unlocked by
one of our house tutors.
Our seniors also used to restrict
us from certain programs that they
thought were not suitable for the
juniors.
Since some of the interesting
programs were prohibited to us,
the juniors, our mission was to
make sure that we watched them
at any cost.
That we did. Or if we couldn’t,
we made sure that our seniors also
couldn’t watch them.
The reason I cited these two
anecdotes is because I would
humbly like to point out that
blocking a social media site or
banning a movie or restricting a
TV channel would never serve the
purpose for which any authority or
state power may think they would.
Banning, blocking, or
preventing makes anything more
attractive for the specific audience.
They would feel more inclined to
reach out to those banned items at
any cost.
A few years ago, a movie
raised huge controversy across
the world as it was on our
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Our
Facebook is slowly evolving as a bigger media, much stronger than our
traditional ones. In fact, it has now become an inclusive space that has
provided a voice to the voiceless masses across the world
government blocked YouTube in
Bangladesh as a result.
I was working at a TV channel
that time. We ran a story on the
day it was blocked.
A day after that, I tried to open
YouTube through a secured SSL --
https://, not http://. And it was
there -- up and running!
I immediately called my
reporter and assigned him to do
a story on that. He contacted
the authorities and surprisingly
found out that no one from the
authorities had any knowledge
about a secured site; my reporter
told them what it was, but he was
requested not to do the story. We
didn’t do the story.
Now, it’s Facebook.
Over the last decade or so,
this social media site has come
quite a long way; it rose to fame
very quickly. It has become so
popular because everyone can
reach it quite easily and the users
can exercise their freedom of
expression.
Initially, Facebook was only
a platform of meeting unknown
and new people across the world.
But after a decade, the users now
know who should remain in his or
her circle and what would be their
content.
Socialising doesn’t seem like
the main objective of Facebook
these days. The users are now
uploading all contents that matter
in their lives.
Thousands of people are
practicing their literary skills;
millions are using it as a marketing
tool; millions are using it as a
platform for expressing their
bottled-up thoughts about the
state of affairs of their countries,
which they usually can’t say
fearlessly before their leaders.
All users now have got a chance
to become “citizen journalists”
and broadcast almost anything,
any act of anomaly or any misdeed
without any help of the media;
Facebook is slowly evolving as a
bigger media, much stronger than
our traditional ones.
In fact, it has now become an
inclusive space that has provided
a voice to the voiceless masses
across the world.
The reason any state authority
can’t digest the content on this
space.
If the authorities provide the
theory that Facebook is spoiling
children that is simply wrong. •
Ekram Kabir is a fiction writer.
BIGSTOCK

12
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
DT
Opinion
Lucrative diplomacy
Pakistani leaders can’t seem to make sacrifices for their own nation
No intention to leave his post, nor to milk Pakistan dry
REUTERS
• FS Aijazuddin
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
has a kidney stone. It is
his second. The first is an
equally painful obstruction
called Imran Khan.
This latest disclosure of the
prime minister’s medical problems
has released yet another flurry of
snowflake speculation. These will
soon melt, as have all previous
prognoses about his imminent
departure on health grounds.
Nawaz Sharif has no intention of
quitting his post.
As long as there is a country to
be visited (even if it is Ruritania), a
guard of honour to be inspected, a
photo-op with a head of state to be
had, another framed trophy to be
added to the galaxy of dignitaries
grinning from the walls of his
Raiwind estate, he will preserve
his fitness -- in the supreme
national interest.
His peripatetic travels have
shown that nothing is as dear to
him as the cause of international
diplomacy. One suspects he has
made more visits abroad than
appearances on the floor of the
National Assembly. MNAs are less
familiar with his features than
foreign hosts are.
One should not cavil about his
obsessive interest in foreign policy.
He is no different to any other
leader of a country as hapless
as Pakistan. To them, foreign
policy is a synonym for a personal
insurance policy.
For example, haven’t the Sharif
brothers been rescued repeatedly
by Saudi largesse and Qatari amnesia?
Doesn’t Altaf Hussain continue
to enjoy the hospitality of the
United Kingdom? Doesn’t former
president Asif Zardari feel more at
home in Dubai than in Karachi?
Even their nemesis General
Musharraf feels no embarrassment
admitting that his plush property
in London was a personal gift
from a Saudi monarch. Nor does
he blush when he discloses that
organisers of lecture tours in the
US are eager to pay him $150,000
a pop for the sort of vacuous
speeches he gave for free as
president.
Musharraf has followed the
example of illustrious names
like Tony Blair, Lady Margaret
Thatcher, and President Ronald
Reagan, who charged enviably
high fees, after they left office. One
recent Pakistani ambassador to
the US took pains to hair-split his
windfall income as a speaker.
He drew a distinction between
the fees he received when
speaking as an ambassador from
those he pocketed when speaking
his mind. Needless to say, such
talent did not go unnoticed
in a country that appreciates
innovation and initiative. He does
not need to renew his Pakistani
passport. The most recent example
of such lucrative diplomacy is the
sinecure the Saudis have offered
former COAS General Raheel
Sharif. After plucking petals for
days -- “Should I? Shoudn’t I?”
-- he reached the final one. He
decided to head the Saudi-led 39
nation coalition.
We are told that it is not against
Yemen but against terror/the
Islamic State/Iran. Never has the
Ummah stood so united against an
enemy of fellow Muslims.
Last week, it was reported that
a spokesman for the coalition,
the Saudi general Ahmed Asiri,
while visiting the United Kingdom
had an egg thrown at him. Many
Pakistanis might feel that their
former COAS, in accepting this
appointment in Saudi Arabia, has
smeared egg on the face of their
nation.
It was not all that long ago
that the Pakistani people,
through their representatives in
There may come a time when the national and provincial assemblies
shall be treated by the elected representatives as the dock of
accountability, not as a springboard of unbridled opportunity
parliament, voted against joining
this coalition. Of course, it will be
argued that permission to General
Raheel Sharif has been granted by
the competent authority.
Authority does not presume
competence, nor propriety.
What will never be assuaged are
the feelings of Pakistanis at this
inexplicable volte face, this selfserving
acceptance of a gilded
sinecure.
One is reminded of the
anguished words of remonstrance
written by Queen Mary to her
son King Edward VIII, after he
announced his abdication in 1936.
Even though they were written
80 years ago and in a different
context, they are still poignantly
applicable: “You did not seem to
be able to take any point of view
but your own,” she admonished
her love-smitten son.
“It seemed inconceivable
to those who had made such
sacrifices during the war that you,
as their King, refused a lesser
sacrifice.”
Countless Pakistani martyrs
have made the ultimate sacrifice
for their country. It is sad that our
leaders find it impossible to make
lesser sacrifices.
There may come a time when
foreign policy will be transacted
in the interest of the nation, not
in the personal interest of its
rulers. There may come a time
when the national and provincial
assemblies shall be treated by
the elected representatives as
the dock of accountability, not
as a springboard of unbridled
opportunity, nor as pulpits of
feigned piety.
There may come a time when
the dignity of service is regarded
as its own reward. Until then,
Pakistan is being treated like some
Masai cow: Milked and bled daily
to sustain its ravenous masters. •
FS Aijazuddin is an art historian. This
article was previously published in
Dawn.

Can we be winners?
Bangladesh has what it takes
Opinion 13
DT
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
• Ishret Binte Wahid
It was merely out of curiosity
that I was seeking updated
news on the demographic
transition in Bangladesh using
one of the most popular search
engines.
I found a dubious feature titled,
“Bangladesh’s Olympics Shame,”
which was published in The Wire
(claiming itself to be a non-profit).
The Bangladeshi author
ruthlessly criticised the
performance of the athletes from
Bangladesh participating in the
Rio Olympics held in 2016.
She successfully identified
Bangladeshi athletes globally and
threw the fireball to the cultural
and technical limitations.
Most importantly, she
mentioned the demographic
transition in Bangladesh and
put forward the judgemental
proposition that, despite having
a large youth population, it is a
shame that we have failed to win
any Olympic medal.
My intention is not to criticise her
well-written piece.
Rather, I am tempted to
elaborate a bit on the very point
of demographic transition and
human capital formation in
Bangladesh.
First, let us take a look at our
population. According to the
World Population Prospects 2016,
the total population of Bangladesh
is about 162,910,864.
The report suggests that
Bangladesh has an annual
population increase rate of about
1.2%, the fertility ratio is 2.2
children per woman, the underfive
mortality ratio is 41 children
per 1,000 live births, about 29% of
the population is below the age of
15, and life expectancy is 71 years.
Before realising Bangladesh’s
status in demographic transition,
let us be clear about the concept of
demographic transition.
Demographic transition is
the process by which a country
begins with roughly equally high
mortality and fertility rates, and
in time, through the transition,
reaches a status where both
mortality and fertility rates are low
and equal.
Looking at the data from
Bangladesh, it is clear that we are
still struggling at the beginning of
the demographic transition.
There are odds associated
with the status of our country’s
demography but there are
comparative advantages as well.
The negative sides include the
scarcity of food and resources,
high population density, increased
demand for public services,
occasional domestic conflicts etc.
On the other hand, the
incredibly large number of young
cohorts in the population structure
is the trump card for Bangladesh.
As more people join the workforce,
it is evident that the demographic
dividend will consequently
translate into increasing economic
growth for the country.
Given the fact that Bangladesh
has a balanced sex ratio compared
to its closest neighbour India,
which is currently struggling with
a skewed sex ratio, we should
utilise the untapped potential of
the female labour force.
According to UN data, till 2014,
women’s participation in the
labour force has been about 43%
which can be interpreted in two
ways.
First, women are in the labour
force sector but unrecognised,
Looking at the data
from Bangladesh,
it is clear that we
are still struggling
at the beginning of
the demographic
transition
and the second is there is a lack
of employment opportunities for
women.
Ensuring women’s effective
participation in the labour
force demands for an attention
to reduce fertility ratio, focus
on women’s education, and
supportive infrastructure like
affordable childcare.
Reducing fertility means the
average number of births per
woman will decrease which means
women will spend less time in
One day we will win gold
reproductive labour and more time
in productive labour.
In the aggregate level, this will
result in increased output and per
capita income.
Also, the country will have
skilled human capital.
Now, at the beginning of this
article, I drew reference to a news
feature.
I now wish to respond to
the author’s ruthless criticism
of the failure of Bangladesh in
developing world-class athletes
and connect it to my discussion of
the human capital formulation.
To seek the root cause, I look
at our history. Until the mid-19th
century, the mortality ratio in
South Asia was significantly high
as we did not have a improved
health care system.
Since then, the South Asian
countries quickly picked up the
vaccination and modern medical
technologies mostly invented in
Western countries.
This has reduced the mortality
rate in many developing countries
but the under-five mortality ratio
in Bangladesh depicts that we are
yet to improve the scenario.
We are at a crucial juncture,
where we need to focus on
building human capital.
The reduced number of births
will allow the parents to invest
more in their children leading to
better education, better health
care, and more attention .
These children will form the
educated skilled labour force of
the country. The average working
age will increase, the country will
have more GNI and growth. The
bulk population will turn into
potential human capital.
Further steps may include more
investment in different sectors like
sports or other technical skills.
Not to disappoint the author of
the feature, but we will have many
world-class athletes.
We need to take the
comparative advantage of our
current population structure
as well as concentrate on
reducing fertility in order to gain
sustainable growth and build
human capital.
There are roadblocks on our
way to success, such as the
incapability of our government to
introduce a strict policy to control
fertility due to the democratic
nature and the desire of
controlling the vote banks, strong
religious bias, the continuous
brain drain from our country,
lack of measures to expand
contraceptive usage etc.
It is comparatively easy to
blame the culture and social
institutions of a country for
not winning any medal in the
Olympics, but underlying this
simplistic accusation, are deep
problems.
We need to focus on the
tremendous achievements that
Bangladesh made in the past
couple of decades, and apply
our learning in effective ways to
ensure a sustainable future.
I believe we are waiting for a
future where search engines will
generate positive results instead
of something like “Bangladesh’s
Olympics Shame.” •
Ishret Binte Wahid is a freelance
contributor.
REUTERS

14
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
DT
Kids
colour it

Kids
15
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
DT
MOVIE
Just the right mix
TRIVIA
Who is Ida?
Into the woods is a movie based
on the popular tales of “Little
Red Riding Hood”, “Cinderella”,
“Rupunzel” and “Jack and
the beanstalk.” This musical is
a fantastic mixture of the four
stories put together.
Initially, the story revolves
around a childless couple – a
baker and his wife who are on
a journey to end a curse cast on
them by a wicked witch. The
story includes countless twists
and turns that lead to a tearjerking
and heartwarming end
that talks about responsibilities
and destiny.•
Ida, one of the
oldest and most
complete primate
fossils, is not what
it was originally
called. The Oslo
team first called
her “Little Miss
Messy,” after
the Messel Pit
where she was
found, until they
discovered “Ida”
was the fossil of
a young primate,
about the same age
as paleontologist
Dr Jørn Hurum’s
daughter, Ida.
They briefly
considered naming
the fossil “Nelson,”
after the monkey
in Ida Hurum’s
favourite Pippi
Longstocking
books. However, the name
Nelson was so common in
Sweden that many fossils were
already named Nelson.
After discussing it with her
family, Ida Hurum told her school
that she was going to have a dead
monkey named after her which
ended up becoming the reason
why it was nicknamed Ida. •
MUSIC
“Skip Rope” by Tweenchronic
MYTHICAL CREATURE
Mythical creature: Xing Tian
Allison Gold and Stacy have
recently come up with a catchy
new single titled, “Skip Rope.”
The duo have proved their
talents with the song and
promises to make it big in the
industry.
The track is a unique blend
of R&B and shows certain
characteristics of the newly
moulded genre, “trip hop.” The
song has been produced by the
same producer as “Friday” by
Rebecca Black.•
In 4th century BC in China, there
lived a brave man named Xing Tian.
Xing Tian was not just any ordinary
man, he was a giant and a soldier to
Emperor Yan.
Xing was the strongest and
the fastest swordsman there
ever was in all the lands. Despite
that, Emperor Yan’s army lost to
the Yellow army at the battle of
Banquan. The giant Xing Tian
wanted to take revenge for his
master and went after the Yellow
emperor. He challenged the Yellow
emperor to a duel and as they
fought, the emperor chopped his
head off with his axe.
But Xing Tian did not die - he
used his chest as eyes to see and
his naval as a mouth to speak and
defeated the emperor. The headless
giant became the protector of the
people around him.
Xing Tian is someone who
cannot be defeated and represents
the fact that no matter what
troubles one may face, they must
not surrender and should move
forward with bravery. Xing is also
someone who does not like people
who lie, cheat or steal. •

16
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
DT
Downtime
CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1 Mute (6)
4 Sorrowful (3)
7 Reddening cosmetic (5)
8 Tempt (6)
11 Fresh (3)
12 Tidy (4)
13 Large deer (4)
15 Biblical quotations (5)
16 Ladies (5)
20 Season (4)
23 Roman emperor (4)
24 Barrier (3)
25 Made profit (6)
26 Copying (5)
27 Acceptance (3)
28 Hexes (6)
DOWN
1 Perfume (5)
2 Sent out (7)
3 Woody plant (4)
4 Submerged (4)
5 Matures (4)
6 Early freshness (3)
9 Born as (3)
10 Financial obligation (3)
14 Lion-like (7)
17 Adults (3)
18 Before (Arch) (3)
19 Small protuberances (5)
20 Ribbon (4)
21 Part of the eye (4)
22 Ova (4)
24 European laurel (3)
CODE-CRACKER
How to solve: Each number in our
CODE-CRACKER grid represents a
different letter of the alphabet. For
example, today 3 represents C so fill C
every time the figure 3 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

What’s on
17
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
DT
EVENTS AROUND TOWN TODAY
THEATRE
MOVIE
FAIR
STAR CINEPLEX
Where Bashundhara City, Dhaka
What Movie showtime (April 8)
KAALRATRI
When 7pm
Where Experimental Theatre, Bangladesh Shilpakala
Academy, Dhaka
What A Padatik Natya Sangsad production on the genocide of
March 25, 1971
WORKSHOP
ELEMENTS: A STORYTELLING WORKSHOP WITH
CLAY
When 11am-1pm
Where Clay Station Dhaka, Hs 28, Rd 20, Block K, Banani,
Dhaka
What Teaching 9-11 year olds about the natural world using
stories and pottery
Hotath Dekha (2D): 1:50pm
Haripada Bandwala (2D): 1:40pm
and 7pm
Beauty and the Beast
(3D):10:50am, 1:40pm, 4:30pm
and 7:20pm
Shotta (2D): 11am, 4:10pm and
7:10pm
Kong: Skull Island (3D): 11:30am,
2:10pm, 4:20pm and 6:50pm
Bhubon Majhi (2D): 11:10am and
4:30pm
The Boss Baby (3D): 11:20am, 2pm,
5pm and 7:30pm
Logan (2D): 10:50am, 1:40pm,
4:30pm and 7:20pm
BLOCKBUSTER CINEMAS
Where Jamuna Future Park, Dhaka
What Movie showtime (April 8)
LOKCHITRO CAMP
When 10am-5pm
Where Jatra Biroti, 60 Kemal Ataturk Avenue, Dhaka
What Learn about the traditional lokchitro art at Jatra Biroti
SPRING MEET-UP
When 12-8pm
Where MIB Spirit Studio, House 50, Road 10/A, Dhanmondi,
Dhaka
What Celebrate the last days of Spring and welcome the new
Bangla year 1424 together with great festivity
PANACHE BOISHAKH & SUMMER COLLECTIONS
When 11am-10pm
Where Six Season Hotel, Road 96, House 19, Gulshan 2,
Dhaka
What One of the leading fashion event organisers of Dhaka
brings you the latest Boishakh designs
PROJECT H2O
When 8am-6pm
Where Volunteer for Bangladesh, 14/3/A, Jafrabad,
Rayerbazar, Dhaka
What Volunteer training on water management for further
youth engagement
WAKE-UP
When 10am-1pm
Where Bishwo Shahitto Kendro, Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue,
Dhaka
What Career development workshop by Durbin. Tickets cost
Tk500
Power Rangers (2D): 11:40am,
2:15pm, 5pm and 7:40pm
Rings: 2:50pm
Beauty and the Beast (3D): 11:35am,
2:15pm, 5pm and 7:30pm
La la land: 4:50pm
Swatta (2D): 1pm, 4pm and 7pm
Haripada Bandwala (2D):
12:30pm, 3:30pm and 6:30pm
The Shack (2D): 12:10pm and
7:35pm
Kong: Skull Island (3D): 4:55pm
Logan (2D): 11:30am, 2:15pm and
7:30pm
Hothat Dekha (2D): 12pm, 2:25pm,
4:50pm and 7:10pm
MUSIC
JATRA BIROTI LIVE
PERFORMANCES
When 7-11pm
Where Jatra Biroti, 60 Kemal
Ataturk Avenue, Dhaka
What Open mic night. Tickets
available for Tk300

DT
18
Sports
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
Mashrafe in focus after Tigers' return
• Tribune Report
Bangladesh’s Mashrafe bin Mortaza and Mushfiqur Rahim react after their return from Sri Lanka
The Tigers returned home yesterday
after a successful tour of Sri
Lanka where they shared the Test,
ODI and T20I series' with the home
side.
All eyes at the airport were
on Bangladesh ODI skipper
Mashrafe bin Mortaza, who announced
his retirement from the
T20I format.
The cricketers were warmly
greeted, alongside BCB president
Nazmul Hasan, who also returned
with the players from Sri Lanka. A
few board directors welcomed the
team.
Questions regarding the sudden
retirement of the “Narail Express”
was the main topic for the journalists
and the BCB boss once again
surprised everyone when he said
Mashrafe is yet to say goodbye to
the T20I format.
“Mashrafe did not retire from
T20Is, he just left the captaincy. If
we need Mashrafe in T20Is we will
definitely take him,” Nazmul told
the media.
When queried if the flower garlands
are intended for Mashrafe’s
retirement, Nazmul informed, “I
don’t know what these flowers are
for but we did not lose any of the
three series against a formidable
side like Sri Lanka. May be this is
the reason for the flowers. Both our
captains are present here.”
The BCB supremo stated that
he was surprised with the media's
reaction after Mashrafe decided to
retire from the shortest format of
the game.
“I have never seen such amount
of news and reports after the retirement
of a cricketer before
Mashrafe’s case,” he said.
The man in question, Mashrafe,
was seen smiling most of the
times. Perhaps, he was trying to
keep his emotions in check. The
33-year old said there is no chance
of changing his decision to retire
from T20Is.
“There is no chance of changing
this decision. I have no regret when
it comes to T20I cricket. In fact,
it’s a proud thing for my family
because I have played this format
for 10 years for Bangladesh,” said
Mashrafe.
He added, “As a team we have
played some good cricket. However,
before the second T20I, we lost
eight matches in this format. If you
see the progress, I think we have
improved in the past two years.
We lost a few games for some small
mistakes. If we had done things
right I think we could have won a
few more matches.”
He continued, “I think we
MD MANIK
should have won the ODI series 2-0.
We have made some mistakes in
this format. However, we have the
Ireland tour coming up, followed
by the (2017) Champions Trophy.
We will definitely play according
to plan as the condition and wicket
will be different. We will try to implement
our plans.” •
BCB president Nazmul Hasan addresses the media (L) while Taskin Ahmed and Mosaddek Hossain are felicitated alongside their team mates
MD MANIK

Sports 19
DT
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
Jose: Draw specialists United 'not good enough'
• AFP, Manchester
Jose Mourinho had no qualms yesterday
in proclaiming his Manchester
United side not good enough to
rid themselves of the unwanted tag
of Premier League draw specialists.
United go to Sunderland tomorrow
after a 20-match unbeaten run
in the top flight, but having drawn
10 of those matches.
Seven of the stalemates have
come at Old Trafford, including the
last two against West Bromwich
Albion and Everton, while United
have drawn nine games in total at
home this season.
"We're not good enough or strong
enough because we're not winning,
and we're not good enough or
strong enough to score the goals we
should,” said Mourinho.
"We're giving the opponents and
their goalkeeper the chance to be
man of the match so many times,"
the United manager added.
"But I still think in spite of bad
results - because for us a draw is a
bad result - we're strong at home.
"Why? Because we've only lost
one game."
Mourinho's men head into the
weekend a massive 18 points behind
leaders Chelsea, albeit with a
game in hand.
More immediately, with just
nine league games left to play this
season, they are four points off the
top four and a place in next season's
Champions League.
Mourinho believes the unbeaten
run, however, augurs well for the
future confidence of the team.
"What makes me think we're
Spain's Koke
robbed of
luxury watch
by gunman in
Madrid
• Reuters, Madrid
Spain midfielder Koke was robbed
at gunpoint in Madrid on Thursday
by an attacker who took his luxury
watch but did not harm him physically,
a spokesman for the Atletico
Madrid player said.
Koke - whose full name is Jorge
Resurreccion - was driving his car
into a parking lot in the central
Chamberi neighbourhood and had
opened the window to take a ticket
when he was approached by a gunman
wearing dark clothing and a
motorcycle helmet.
"He said 'Give me the watch
and get inside (the car park)'. It
happened so fast, just 10 or 15 seconds,"
the spokesman told Reuters.
He said the watch was worth some
70,000 euros ($74,403.00). •
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho gestures during their EPL match against Everton on Tuesday
strong is the way opponents play
against us because that's a big
change,” he said.
"I saw matches in previous seasons
when teams came to Old Trafford
thinking they thought they
could win, they played an open
game and played an 'eye in the eye
game' and many times lost with a
counter-attack goal.
"I've watched and analysed Anthony
Martial and Marcus Rashford's
counter-attacking goals and
it's impossible for us to score in a
counter attack because teams come
to Old Trafford thinking not about
winning but about not losing.
"Looking to next season, I think
it's a good feeling to know we haven't
lost many matches.
"It's good to know we're 20
matches undefeated in the Premier
REUTERS
League. Ten draws in 10 matches
is 10 points; five victories and five
defeats in 10 matches is 15 points.
“But the points are the reality.”
Meanwhile, Mourinho defended
Jesse Lingard's new contract,
worth a reported £100,000
($124,693, 117,148 euros) a week.
The 24-year-old England international
has committed his future
to United until 2021.
Liverpool’s Mane to miss rest of
season with knee injury
• Reuters
Liverpool’s Sadio Mane reacts after sustaining an injury against Everton during
their Premier League match at Anfield on Saturday
REUTERS
Liverpool winger Sadio Mane requires
knee surgery and will miss
the rest of the season, manager
Juergen Klopp said yesterday. Senegal
international Mane, who has
scored 13 Premier League goals this
season, suffered the injury during
Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Everton in
the Premier League last weekend.
Mane’s finishing and pace have
been key for Liverpool under Klopp
and the team won just one of seven
games in January - their worst run
of results all season - when Mane
was at the African Nations Cup.
“Pretty sure Mane needs surgery
and then it is season over. Impossible
that he will play again this
season,” said Klopp.
Klopp also said midfielder
Philippe Coutinho and striker
Daniel Sturridge were doubtful for
today’s league visit to Stoke City
while English duo Jordan Henderson
and Adam Lallana will both
definitely miss the game. The German,
however, said he would not
dwell on either the injury crisis or
how Liverpool’s rivals were doing
in the race for the top four, and
urged his players to focus on picking
up points.
“It’s not about thinking about
the players you can’t (select), it’s
about thinking of the players you
can,” Klopp said. •
The award of such a lucrative
contract to a squad player who has
played just 70 times, with just one
Premier League goal this season
has led to questions over whether
young players have the hunger to
succeed if this is how they are rewarded
for relatively modest displays.
But Mourinho said: "I think he
(Lingard) is a good player already
and because of his age and happiness
in the work, I think he has
conditions to be even better.
"Apart from that, he's English,
he's made in the (United) academy
which is very important.
“So it's a very important contract
and I congratulate him and
the board to reward him with it.
“It also gives stability for me,
because it's important for me to
know that (his future) is not in danger
and out of our control.”
Mourinho was non-committal
over the future of Adnan Januzaj,
who has failed to impress in a season-long
loan at bottom club Sunderland.
The 22-year-old's contract is up
in just over a year's time and Mourinho,
asked about Januzaj, said:
“Yes, I have decided", without elaborating
any further.
Sunderland, are 10 points from
safety in bottom place with eight
games left and Mourinho had
words of consolation for Black Cats
manager David Moyes, one of his
predecessors at Old Trafford.
"I have sympathy for any manager
that is fighting hard to reach
his objectives, and he's in trouble
to do it,” he said. •
Lingard signs
new long-term
United contract
• Reuters
Manchester United winger Jesse
Lingard has signed a new contract
that will keep him at Old Trafford
until 2021, the Premier League club
said in a statement on Thursday.
Lingard, who will earn up to
100,000 pounds ($124,650) a week
according to British media reports,
has an option to extend the deal by
a further year.
“Manchester United has always
been a big part of my life,” Lingard
said in a club statement.
“I have been with the club since
the age of seven and I feel great
pride every time I pull the shirt on.”
The 24-year-old broke into the
United first team under previous
manager Louis van Gaal and has
gone on to make 70 appearances
for the club, scoring 11 goals.
Three of those have come at
Wembley, with the winger netting
the winner in last season’s FA Cup
final. •

20
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
DT
Sports
Wenger says Sanchez wants to stay at Arsenal
• Reuters
Alexis Sanchez wants to stay at Arsenal
despite speculation that he is
disillusioned by the club's failure
to challenge for the Premier League
title, manager Arsene Wenger said
yesterday.
Reports in British media say
contract talks have been put on
hold, but Wenger insists Sanchez,
who has a year and a half left on
his deal, will be at the club next
season.
"Basically, he (Sanchez) wants
to stay at the club and it's down
to finding an agreement with his
agent," Wenger told reporters on
Friday. "The players first have to see
if they are happy at the club, then
they have to find an agreement."
Arsenal, fifth in the Premier
League, are in danger of missing
out on Champions League qualification
and the 28-year-old Sanchez
has been linked with a number of
other clubs, including Chelsea,
Manchester United and Paris St
Germain.
Wenger himself is out of contract
at the end of the season, but
once again refused to clarify his
future as he focussed on Monday's
away game at Crystal Palace.
The Frenchman did, however,
defend midfielder Mesut Ozil
- another player whose future is
Simeone leans on Griezmann for
more derby glory
• AFP, Madrid
Diego Simeone believes Atletico
Madrid need top scorer Antoine
Griezmann in top form if they are
to once again derail city rivals Real
Madrid's La Liga title challenge today.
Real hold a two-point lead over
Barcelona at the top of La Liga and
have a game in hand as they edge
towards a first title in five years.
However, Atletico have won a
the subject of uncertainty - saying
Arsenal's crushing Champions
League exit at the hands of Bayern
Munich had hurt the player.
"(Ozil) is very ambitious. He
wants to win the Champions
League. We went out in such an
emphatic way, it was difficult to
take for everybody," Wenger said.
"He cares and people often reproach
him because of his style of
record three consecutive La Liga
clashes between the sides at Real's
Santiago Bernabeu.
"We need the best of Antoine,"
said Simeone yesterday.
Griezmann scored the winner as
Atletico won 1-0 at the Bernabeu
last season as part of a spectacular
2016 for him on a personal level.
He top scored at Euro 2016 and finished
third behind Cristiano Ronaldo
and Lionel Messi in the Ballon
d'Or.
Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann and coach Diego Simeone smile during a
recent training session
REUTERS
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger consoles Alexis Sanchez during a Uefa Champions League group stage match this year
play, but he cares much more than
people think he does."
Ozil has been criticised for a
series of anonymous displays in
recent months but impressed in
Wednesday's 3-0 win over West
Ham United - Arsenal's second victory
in seven league games.
Arsenal are four points behind
fourth-placed Manchester City,
having played a game less, and six
However, with success has
come attractors and Griezmann is
constantly having to distance himself
from speculation over a move
at the end of the season with Manchester
United leading the chase
for his signature.
"I always want the best for footballers
who give their all like Antoine,"
added Simeone, who has committed
himself to remaining in charge for Atletico's
move to a new 67,000-capacity
stadium next season.
"He has improved enormously
because he wanted to and he has
looked to improve."
Griezmann has scored 79 goals
in 149 games for Atletico since joining
from Real Sociedad for 30m euros
($32m) in 2014.
And any move away from Madrid
in the summer will almost certainly
require the buying club to pay his
100m-euro buyout clause.
"He wanted to integrate himself
into this club, which is different
from the one he came from.
"He has transformed from a boy
into a man on the field and taken
important decisions.
"He is on course to consistently
be among the top players in the
world." •
points behind third-placed Liverpool
who have played two games
more.
"We are in a position that is not
comfortable. It is not where we
want to be. We know what we need
to do," Wenger said.
"The line of conduct is very
clear. We had a hiccup in recent
weeks, what is important is to
move on." •
O'Keefe sanctioned for
second drunken incident
• Reuters, Melbourne
Former United
striker Cole
has kidney
transplant
• Reuters, London
Former Manchester United striker
Andy Cole is recovering in hospital
after undergoing a kidney transplant,
the club said in a statement
yesterday.
Cole, who won the treble with
United in 1998-99 and scored 121
goals for the club in 275 appearances,
had the transplant as part
of his treatment for the nephrotic
syndrome focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.
"Andrew and his family would
like to thank the club and fans for
their support," United said on their
website.
"They also request that he can
continue with his treatment in private,
and ask that their privacy is
respected."
The 45-year-old Cole joined
United from Newcastle United
midway through the 1994-95 season
and scored five goals in a 9-0
rout of Ipswich Town. The following
season he helped United win
the title, pipping Newcastle to the
crown.
He later struck up a prolific partnership
with Dwight Yorke. •
Australia spinner Stephen O'Keefe
has been fined A$20,000 ($15,000)
and banned from a domestic oneday
tournament after making
"highly inappropriate comments"
while under the influence of alcohol,
Cricket Australia said yesterday.
The incident happened at a
Cricket New South Wales function
and O'Keefe had accepted a code of
conduct charge, the board said in a
statement.
"As this is O'Keefe's second offence
under the Cricket Australia
Code of Conduct, within the last
18 months, a fine of $20,000 was
proposed and accepted," the statement
said.
The New South Wales left-armer
was fined $10,000 by CA last
August for a drunken incident involving
security staff at a Sydney
bar soon after he returned home
injured from Australia's tour of Sri
Lanka.
The incident prompted O'Keefe
to stop drinking and he was selected
for the tour of India, where he
took 6-35 in both innings to lead
Australia to a stunning victory in
the first test in late February.
O'Keefe has agreed to undergo
counselling but his state association
Cricket NSW still banned him
for selection for New South Wales
for the domestic one-day tournament
in 2017.
"Stephen has not upheld the
standards expected of a NSW and
Australian cricketer in the aftermath
of the India tour where he
proudly represented his state and
country," Cricket NSW CEO Andrew
Jones said.
"As this is his second recent offence
we believe a strong penalty
is appropriate. At Cricket NSW, we
want all our people to achieve their
potential on and off the field and
Stephen needs to refocus himself
on that task." •

Sports
21
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
DT
Fifa announces
$369 million loss
for 2016
• AFP, Zurich
Fifa yesterday announced a $369m
loss for 2016, a second straight
annual deficit, as it recovers from
scandals that have rocked world
football and acknowledged it had
to use hundreds of millions of dollars
of its reserves.
The game's world governing
body blamed the cost of investigating
the scandals, bad investments
and accounting changes. But there
is worse to come for the organisation,
which is rebuilding after
its near collapse at the end of the
tainted Sepp Blatter era.
It expects to lose $489m, before
tax, in 2017 before a World Cup revenue
bonanza in 2018 rescues the
accounts.
Fifa’s losses for 2015-2017 are set
to hit $910m0 (855m euros) even
though it revised its 2015 deficit
down from $122m to $52m.
Revenues fell to $502m in 2016
from $544m in 2015.
Fifa said its reserves had fallen
from $1.4bn in 2015 to $1.04bn in
2016 and they are expected to crash
to $605m this year.
Fifa is banking on making $1.1 bn
in profits in 2018 when the World
Cup is held in Russia, which would
give a surplus of about $100m for
the organisation's four-year accounting
cycle.
The organisation said the bumper
profits, mainly from television
deals, would help bring its reserves
back to $1.7bn in 2018.
Since a police raid on a Fifa congress
hotel in May 2015 when seven
football officials were arrested,
Blatter and his two top deputies,
secretary general Jerome Valcke
and finance officer Markus Kattner,
have been suspended or fired. •
DAY’S WATCH
CRICKET
SONY ESPN
IPL T20 2017
4:30PM
Punjab v Pune
8:30PM
Bangalore v Delhi
FOOTBALL
STAR SPORTS SELECT HD 1
EPL 2016-17 season
7:50PM
Stoke v Liverpool
10:20PM
Bournemouth v Chelsea
STAR SPORTS SELECT HD 2
7:50PM
Man City v Hull
Bundesliga 2016-17 season
10:16PM
Bayern v Dortmund
TEN 1
La Liga 2016-17 season
8:10PM
Real Madrid v Atletico
Australia's Nick Kyrgios hits a shot against John Isner of the USA during their Davis Cup quarter-final in Brisbane yesterday
Kyrgios fells Isner to put Australia 2-0 up
• Reuters, Melbourne
Nick Kyrgios eased past John Isner
7-5 7-6 (5) 7-6 (5) in a duel of
big servers to fire Australia to a 2-0
lead over the United States in their
Davis Cup quarter-final in Brisbane
yesterday.
The Australian number one carried
on from the early work of underdog
compatriot Jordan Thompson
who stunned Jack Sock in four
sets to give the hosts a flying start
at a packed Pat Rafter Arena.
In ominous form during last
month's U.S. hardcourt swing,
Kyrgios blasted 20 aces to Isner's
15, largely defusing the towering
American's serve to close out a
slow-burning match in two hours
and 24 minutes.
Isner battled to the end, saving
a match point at 6-5 to take
the third set into a tiebreak, then
charging into a 5-2 lead. But Kyrgios
wrapped up the match in
style, mowing through five straight
points and sealing victory with a
thundering ace.
Hammering a ball into the roaring
crowd, Kyrgios hugged captain
Lleyton Hewitt and his thrilled
Barca's Rafinha to miss
rest of the season
• AFP, Barcelona
Barcelona midfielder Rafinha's season
was brought to a premature
end after undergoing knee surgery
yesterday, the club confirmed.
The Brazilian will be sidelined
for four months ruling him out of
Barca's push for a treble of La Liga,
Champions League and Copa del
Rey.
"Rafinha has had an arthroscopy
in the right knee to solve an injury
in the internal meniscus," Barca
said in a statement.
"The estimated time out is four
months."
Rafinha had to be replaced after
just 17 minutes of Barca's 4-1 win at
Granada on Sunday.
The 24-year-old had become a
key player in Barca boss Luis Enrique's
switch to a 3-4-3 formation
following a 4-0 thrashing by Paris
Saint-Germain in the first leg of
their Champions League last 16 tie
in February.
He scored seven goals in 28 appearances
in all competitions this
season.
However, Rafinha has an unfortunate
history of knee injuries having
missed the majority of last season
to cruciate ligament damage. •
team mates.
"That was unbelievable today,"
21-year-old Kyrgios said of the
crowd support.
"Obviously I have to take care of
my serve (against Isner).
"I've been playing great tennis...
And I returned really well today so
I'm really happy to get the win."
Kyrgios gave up only two break
points, dropping serve once early
in the first set to hand Isner a 3-0
lead. But the world number 16 Australian
stormed back, breaking his
opponent to love at 5-5 and serving
out the set with an ace.
REUTERS
Another barrage of huge serves
saw Kyrgios steal a march in the
second set tiebreak and after running
the big American all over the
court, he grabbed the set with a
cheeky drop-shot.
Although there was some carping
at the chair umpire and muttering
between points, there were no
histrionics from the combustible
Australian who pushed hard for a
quick kill. He landed a sumptuous
cross-court forehand on the line to
bring up three break points in the
fourth game of the final set but Isner
saved them with all. •
Afghanistan to play
MCC at Lord's
• AFP, London
Afghanistan are set for another
milestone after it was announced
yesterday they will play their first
match at Lord's, taking on a side
led by former New Zealand captain
Brendon McCullum. Now one of
the world's leading Associate, or
junior cricket, countries Afghanistan
are closing in on becoming
a Test nation. They are top of the
ICC’s Intercontinental Cup, with
the winner gaining Test status.
Their 50-over match against
MCC at Lord's, "the home of cricket",
will take place on July 11.
Two Afghan, Mohammad Nabi
and Hamid Hassan, were previously
on the MCC Young Cricketers
scheme. MCC president Matthew
Fleming said: "I am thrilled that
we will be welcoming Afghanistan
to Lord’s this summer. I have seen
first-hand the talent and passion
for cricket the nation has and this
fixture can only be a good thing for
the ongoing development of Afghan
cricket. It is the latest landmark on
a very exciting journey for Afghan
cricket and MCC will need to field
an extremely strong side in order to
compete," the former England ODI
all-rounder added. •

22
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
DT
Showtime
Satta, Haripada Bandwala running successfully
• Showtime Desk
Shakib Khan and Paoli Dam starrer
Satta was released yesterday in
48 theatres all over the country,
while Tollywood’s Ankush Hazra
and Nusrat Jahan starrer Haripada
Bandwala, which was released in
Bangladesh on the same day under
the SAFTA agreement, ended
up on the screens of 79 theatres
nationwide.
Hasibur Reza Kallol’s social-drama
film Satta is an adaptation of
Sohani Alam’s novel Maa, who
is also the producer of the film.
According to the director, Satta
revolves around the stories of
our society. The shooting of the
film took more than two and half
years to be completed. Kallol also
promised that a different Shakib
Khan will be seen in his film.
On the other hand, Haripada
Bandwala is a 2016 romantic
comedy film, directed by Pathikrit
Basu and produced by Shrikant
Mohta, and Mahendra Soni under
the banner of Shree Venkatesh
Films. Featuring Ankush Hazra
and Nusrat Jahan in the lead
roles, the film is a remake of 2014
Punjabi comedy Disco Singh,
which itself was loosely based on
a Bollywood film, Do Knot Disturb.
Interestingly, this film from 2009
was a remake of the 2006 French
film, La Doublure (The Valet).
Despite being a new film, Satta
was released at fewer theatres
than the-relatively-old film from
Kolkata, Haripada Bandwala.
This instantly became a matter
of dispute on various social
media platforms. Many local
film audiences expressed their
frustrations on social media.
This is the first time that the
films of two Tollywood actresses
are simultaneously being released
in Bangladesh on the same day.
This might end up creating intense
competition between the two
films. •
Asif-Kona’s first music
video together
• Showtime Desk
Central Music and Video (CMV)
recently released the first ever
music video of the iconic pop duo
Asif Akbar Khan and Dilshad Nahar
Kona. The song titled “Pujarini”
has been composed by Mushfique
Litu on Jibon Mahmud’s lyrics and
Najir Mahmud’s tunes, while Topu
Khan directed the video.
The music video features model
Luna and Shariar Rana Jewel
alongside singers Asif and Kona.
The video has been released on
CMV’s Youtube channel yesterday.
“The track is very romantic
and I love it. I liked the video as
well. I hope the listeners will have
a pleasant experience watching
and listening to the song,” said
Asif Akbar, who has more than 120
solos, duets, mixed albums, and
over 2000 tracks to his credit.
On the other hand, Kona is
looking forward to the success of
her first ever music video with
Asif. She said, “I have worked with
Asif bhai before; we did quite a few
tracks together but this is the first
time we worked on a music video.
The track is great and so is the
video. I believe the audience will
love it.” •
Scarlett Johansson slams Ivanka Trump
• Showtime Desk
In a pithy interview session with Arianna
Huffington at the eighth annual Women in the
World Summit in New York City on Thursday,
Scarlett Johansson called out Ivanka’s actions,
or the lack thereof, as “cowardly” and baffling.
“I can’t imagine how complicated it must
be to see your parent in this sudden position
that he is in, and know deep down, that it is a
position that he never really wanted,” she told
Huffington. “It must be a unique and strange
thing, but she has an opportunity to really make
a big impact just by being vocal … she is a
very well-spoken and smart, intelligent
woman … but the whole situation
baffles me,” said the Ghost in the Shell
actress.
The ball started rolling after
a recent interview with CBS in
which Ivanka claimed she did
not know what it meant to be
“complicit”. Johansson ensured
she learn the meaning by
impersonating the eldest Trump
daughter in a “Saturday Night
Live” faux perfume ad called
“Complicit” (“the fragrance for
the woman who could stop
all of this, but won’t”) and
condemned her CBS News
interview with Gayle King
earlier this week.
To explain her
frustration with Trump,
Johansson said,
“( Ivanka) said…she
felt that the greatest change she would make
would be behind closed doors and nobody
would actually know that she had made this
change.”
“How old-fashioned, this idea that behind a
great man is a great woman. You can’t appear to
be concerned that someone is going to think that
you are a powerful woman. Screw that, it is so
old fashioned and it is uninspired and actually
really cowardly.”
Ivanka has previouslty
faced criticism after
heralding herself as
a “champion of
women” amid
both her father’s
sexual assault
allegations
and his failure
to improve
the working
conditions for
women. •

Showtime
23
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
DT
Transcending translation
• Showtime Desk
Sony Entertainment Television’s
popular reality singing show
Indian Idol 9 recently ended with
a grand finale, where LV Revanth
was declared as the winner of
the show. The singer was pitted
against PVNS Rohit and Khuda
Baksh, but Revanth managed to
walk away with the trophy and a
prize money of Rs 25 lakh.
Revanth, who hails from
Visakhapatnam, is not a newcomer
to the world of singing as he
has already lent his voice to big
projects like Baahubali. His song
“Manohari” won him the IIFA
Utsavam award.
Giving up on several Telugu
projects, the singer participated
in the reality show being
apprehensive of his Hindi diction.
Nevertheless, his hard work and
perseverance finally paid off as
he became Anu Malik’s favourite
contestant, who had already
declared him as his Indian Idol.
This is not the first time that
a non-Hindi speaker became the
winner of the reality show. Here
are some other winners who
were not comfortable with Hindi
initially but ended up winning the
show and the hearts of millions.
Season 4 winner — Saurabhee
Debbarma
The first female winner and season
4 winner, Saurabhee Debbarma
said, “I started doing live shows
after winning Indian Idol and
my life changed completely.”
She recently got married to Kapil
Thappa, a fellow contestant on the
show.
Season 3 winner — Prashant
Tamang
Prashant launched his first
album Dhanyavad, which
included both Hindi and
Nepali songs after winning
season 3. He has sung
numerous Nepali songs and
has already completed a
music tour in the US. “Things
changed for me after Indian
Idol. My love for singing was
recognised and I am very
happy with that. I’m signing
projects for playback singing
and planning to start a singing
institute,” he said.
Indian Idol Junior 1 winner — Anjana Padmanabhan
After winning the first season of Indian Idol Junior, Bangalore-based
Anjana is still finishing her schooling. She is currently studying in eighth
grade. “Besides singing in Hindi and Kannada at live shows, I am also
doing many live shows for non-profit organisations like CRY. My parents
want me to finish my education first,” she shared.
Season 5 winner — Sreeram Chandra
After winning the fifth season of the show, Sreeram ended
up as a playback singer for big films such as Yeh Jawani Hai
Deewani Khiladi 786 and more recently Raees. “I’m into
acting as well and have done a couple of small projects as
lead actor and am signing another project. I’ve done a video
which will be out soon,” said the season 5 winner.
SOURCE: COLLECTED
Indian Idol Junior 2 winner Ananya Nanda
The winner of second Indian Idol Junior, Ananya, has worked as a
playback singer in films such as MS Dhoni: The Untold story. “Right now, I
am preparing for my class 10 board exams and plan to continue playback
singing after I am done,” said Ananya, who has recently signed up to sing
in Oriya films. •
WHAT TO WATCH
The Rebel
7:47 pm, WB
In French ruled Vietnam in 1922,
the French and Vietnamese
officers plot to sniff out archrebel
De Canh. But, Officer Cuong
is disabused. He and De Canh’s
daughter, rebel Vo Thanh Thuy,
are unwittingly used as bait. A
bloody climax ensues.
Cast: Johnny Nguyen, Thanh
Van Ngo, Dustin Nguyen, Thang
Nguyen, Chanh Tin Nguyen
Batman v Superman: Dawn of
Justice
9:30 pm, HBO
Fearing that the actions of
Superman are left unchecked,
Batman takes on the Man of
Steel, while the world wrestles
with what kind of a hero it really
needs.
Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill,
Amy Adams, Jesse, Eisenberg,
Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne
Jack the Giant Slayer
9:30 pm, Movies Now
The ancient war between humans
and a race of giants is reignited
when Jack, a young farmhand
fighting for a kingdom and the
love of a princess, opens a gateway
between the two worlds.
Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Stanley
Tucci, Ewan McGregor, Eddie
Marsan
Avengers: Age of Ultron
2:00 pm, Star Movies
When Tony Stark and Bruce
Banner try to jump-start a
dormant peacekeeping program
called Ultron, things go horribly
wrong and it’s up to Earth’s
Mightiest Heroes to stop the
villainous Ultron from enacting his
terrible plans.
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris
Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris
Evans, Scarlett Johansson
Shanghai Noon
3:35 pm, Zee Studio
A Chinese man travels to the
Wild West to rescue a kidnapped
princess. After teaming up with
a train robber, the unlikely duo
takes on a Chinese traitor and his
corrupt boss.
Cast: Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson,
Lucy Liu, Brandon Merrill, Roger
Yuan

24
SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017
DT
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Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar rail route
construction to begin in August
• Shohel Mamum
Construction work on the much
awaited Chittagong to Cox’s Bazar
rail route will begin in August this
year, the project team has said.
The 100km dual gauge track,
which is expected to be completed
by 2022, will facilitate quick travel
to the world’s longest sea beach not
only from the capital, but also from
neighbouring Bhutan, India and
Nepal through the existing Dhaka-Kolkata
rail route.
The new link will also form part
of the Trans-Asian Rail Route connecting
Bangladesh to other regional
neighbours including China,
Myanmar and Thailand.
“The Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar
Rail-Line Project has already been
marked as a fast-track project by
the government. We hope to begin
the construction works by August
this year and complete the project
by 2022,” said the assistant project
director, Mohammad Mohiuddin.
The rail link will connect to Myanmar
via Teknaf’s Gundom border,
aiming to ease the travel and
trade through the proposed Sonadia
deep seaport in future. The
Cox’s Bazar-Gundom link is yet to
be finalised though.
The line will begin at Dohazari
village of Chittagong and extend
southwards to Xilongxa of Cox’s
Bazar through seven upazilas:
Chandanaish, Satkania and Lohagara
of Chittagong; and Chakaria,
Cox’s Bazar Sadar, Ramu and
Ukhia of Cox’s Bazar.
Rail connectivity to Cox’s Bazar
will boost tourism as Dhaka’s
passengers will be able reach the
coastal resort in only six hours –
four hours faster than the current
quickest route by road. Even the
journey from Kolkata will be only
The project will be
implemented at a
cost of Tk18,034cr,
of which the Asian
Development Bank
(ADB) is likely to
provide Tk12,000cr
assistance
a matter of 16 hours, according to
project documents.
The project will be implemented
at a cost of Tk18,034cr, of which the
Asian Development Bank (ADB) is
likely to provide Tk12,000cr assistance.
“Bangladesh Railways will sign
a deal with ADB in July this year. It
will be the biggest investment ever
made by the bank in the country’s
railways sector,” said Mohiuddin.
The project cost is slightly higher
compared to other projects in
the sector as it involves the construction
of 39 major bridges, 145
culverts and nine new stations including
the iconic Oyster-shaped
station at Cox’s Bazar, he added.
The rail route will also incorporate
animal corridors to ensure
safe traffic for wildlife including
elephants.
During a recent visit to the project
area in Cox’s Bazar’s deep forest
zone, the frequent movement
of wildlife was observed around
the proposed rail track.
Tohaddis, a local ranger in Chakaria
told the Dhaka Tribune, “During
the paddy harvesting season, wild
elephants frequent the area. The rail
track may disturb their movement.”
The railways authority is currently
carrying out the acquisition
and demarcation of the circa 1,390
acres of land needed for the project
in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar, and
the alignment of the route. •
Bangladesh’s hoolock
gibbons are critically
endangered
• Abu Siddique
The International Union for the
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has
placed the hoolock gibbbon on its
Red List, establishing the species
as a major critically endangered
species in Bangladesh.
Globally, the primate species
has an endangered status.
According to Prof Monirul H
Khan from Jahangirnagar University’s
zoology department, there
are about 200 members of the
Western hoolock gibbon (Hoolock
hoolock) living in the north-east
region of Bangladesh, particularly
in greater Sylhet and Chittagong
regions.
Hoolock gibbons are arboreal
primates, which means they spend
their entire lives on trees. They
seldom come down to the ground,
with the lowest average height a
hoolock gibbon comes down to
during its lifetime is 15 feet.
A hoolock’s size ranges from
60cm to 90cm and weighs 6-9kg.
Their diet consists of different
types of fruits, leaves and insects.
The life expectancy of a hoolock
is about 25 years.
The male of the species has
black fur with white brows whereas
the female have a grey-brown
fur. The species is also found in
the Seven Sister states of northeast
India.
The number of hoolocks is declining
mostly due to deforestation.
As their natural habitat
shrinks with each passing day,
their numbers fall, threatening the
primate species with extinction.•
SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN
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,
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