e_Paper 24-04-2017

SECOND EDITION 

MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2017 | Boishakh 11, 1424, Rajab 26, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 356 | www.dhakatribune.com | 24 pages plus 8-page World supplement | Price: Tk10 

Husbands’ greed crushes 

Rana Plaza survivors › 2 

Workplace safety in 

govt-inspected RMG 

factories in limbo › 3 

Countrywide situation 

improves, yet CHT remains 

malaria endemic › 4 

France may catch populist 

wave in presidential 

election › 8 

WORLD SUPPLEMENT 

May’s real reason for 

calling election › 2 

DT 

World Tribune 

Putin-linked think tank 

drew up plan to sway 

2016 US election › 3 

Hardline hindu youth 

call the shots on streets 

of northern India › 7 

MAY’S REAL REASON 

2 FOR CALLING ELECTION 

3 

DREW UP PLAN TO SWAY 

2016 US ELECTION 

The Battle 

of Britain 

7 

HARDLINE HINDU YOUTH 

CALL THE SHOTS ON STREETS 

OF NORTHERN INDIA 

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

2 

MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2017 

DT 

News 

Husbands’ greed crushes 

Rana Plaza survivors 

• Adil Sakhawat 

For Rokhsana Akhter, the trauma 

of having survived the Rana Plaza 

collapse became bearable when 

she found her loving husband constantly 

by her side. 

Tofazzal Hossain, a day labourer 

by profession, cared for Rokhsana 

when she was recovering in the 

hospital, tending to her needs day 

and night. 

“Having returned from the 

brink of death, I thought I would be 

all right because I had such a loving, 

caring husband with me,” said 

Rokhsana. 

But soon she realised that she 

mistook greed for love. 

“My husband’s care stemmed 

from the fact that I was going to get 

a lot of money in compensation, 

not his love for me.” 

Several Rana Plaza survivors 

have experienced the same betrayal 

as Rokhsana; the true face of 

their husbands or loved ones came 

out after the compensation money 

stopped coming. 

Rana Plaza survivors – especially 

those who suffered amputation 

– received compensation and donations 

from the government as well 

as different individual donors and 

organisations. 

The compensation – a handsome 

amount of money – was aimed at 

giving a head start to the survivors 

for putting their lives back on track 

with the help of their families. 

Instead, some women were not 

only abandoned by their husbands 

when they needed them the most, 

but were also cheated – in some 

cases, forced – out of their money 

by them. 

“You might have seen men frantically 

looking for their RMG worker 

wives in the debris of Rana Plaza 

four years ago,” said Kazi Monir 

Hossain, coordinator of Shongkolon 

Bangladesh, a foundation 

working on the rehabilitation of 

Rana Plaza survivors. 

“Some of these men, seemingly 

worried about their wives’ well-being, 

were quick to realise that their 

wives were going to get a fat sum 

of money for compensation. So 

they played the role of a concerned 

husband and practically stole these 

women’s money – their means to 

get back on their feet – from them.” 

Rana Plaza, an eight-storey building 

in Savar, Dhaka that housed five 

RMG factories – collapsed on the 

morning of April 24, 2013. The accident 

– the worst industrial disaster 

in the history of Bangladesh – killed 

1,135 people and injured more than 

2,500 others, most of whom were 

Lavli Akhter (left) and Rikta Akhter 

RMG workers. 

According to Shongkolon Bangladesh, 

98 of the survivors suffered 

amputation, 75 of whom were 

women. 

Rokhsana, who was a worker 

of New Wave Style Ltd, an RMG 

factory on the seventh floor of the 

building, lost her right leg in the 

incident. 

She was treated at the National 

Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic 

Rehabilitation (Nitor) in 

Dhaka for a month. 

“You have no idea how caring 

he was when I was in the hospital,” 

Rokhsana said. “I was lucky to receive 

a lot of monetary help at that 

time, and he handled all of it.” 

She said she received around 

Tk27 lakh in compensation – including 

the prime minister’s savings 

certificate worth Tk10 lakh 

and Tk8 lakh in donation from different 

people and organisations.” 

“After I was released from hospital, 

my husband’s attitude changed 

overnight. He became distant,” 

Rokhsana told this reporter, her 

eyes wet. “He told me: ‘You are disabled. 

I feel embarrassed to be seen 

with you in public.’” 

The verbal abuse – and sometimes 

physical – went on for a while. 

A year after the incident, Tofazzal 

sent his wife of three years to 

her village home, while she was 

four months pregnant with their 

daughter, and severed all contacts. 

“A lot of good souls helped me 

out with money, but my husband 

My husband’s care stemmed from the fact 

that I was going to get a lot of money in 

compensation, not his love for me 

kept most of it.” 

Even when their daughter was 

born, Tofazzal did not visit Rokhsana 

in her village, nor did he show 

any affection for his child, she said. 

Tragedy hit Rokhsana once 

more when her seven-month-old 

daughter passed away after suffering 

from pneumonia for three days. 

When she contacted Tofazzal, he 

said: “It is better this way. A disabled 

person like you would not have 

been able to raise her properly.” 

Three days later, he sent her a 

divorce notice. 

“I just wish my daughter was 

still here,” said Rokhsana, crying. “I 

wish I could see her smiling face.” 

Despite the heart-break she suffered, 

Rokhsana has started working 

again to get back on her feet. 

The 25-year-old has set up a 

loom at her village home in Chapainawabganj 

using Tk90,000 compensation 

from Brac. 

“I am thankful to the government 

and Brac for their help,” she 

said. 

Rikta Akhter, mother of two 

children, was left by her husband 

Morsalin eight months ago and now 

lives with her parents in Gaibandha. 

“I received Tk20 lakh in compensation 

as I lost my right hand in 

the incident,” said Rikta, who was a 

senior operator at Phantom Apparels 

Ltd on the fourth floor of Rana 

Plaza. 

Rikta and her husband, a driver, 

had become quite well-known as 

they were interviewed by different 

Depositions 

for Rana Plaza 

cases yet to 

begin 

• Md Sanaul Islam Tipu 

MEHEDI HASAN AND ADIL SHAKHAWAT 

give him a good future,” she said. • 

media outlets at the time. 

“I could not believe it when my 

husband, who was so caring, suddenly 

became abusive,” she said. 

The reason: he wanted her money. 

“He took half of the money and 

left us. I heard he got married,” she 

said. “Now I only have the interest 

generated from the prime minister’s 

savings certificate of Tk12 lakh 

I received to get by. I do not know 

how I am going to pay for my children’s 

education,” she said. 

The betrayal that Lavli Akhter 

suffered was slightly different. 

Lavli worked on the seventh 

floor of Rana Plaza, while her 

mother worked on the eighth floor. 

“Both of us were lucky to survive 

the horrible collapse, but only 

my mother was lucky in marriage,” 

she said. “My father did not leave 

her and took care of her until she 

got better.” 

Unlike Rokhsana and Rikta, Lavli 

did not suffer any amputation, 

but recovering from such an ordeal 

was a long process. 

Then she met Atiqur, a mason 

by profession. 

“Atiqur convinced my parents 

and me that he loved me and 

would take care of me for the rest 

of my life.” 

They got married in 2014. “As 

soon as we got married, he got more 

interested in my compensation 

than in me. I gave all of it to him, yet 

he suspected that I was hiding more 

money. He never cared about the 

pain I had or my mental condition – 

all he cared about was money.” 

Once Atiqur realised that Lavli 

had no more money left, he left her. 

Their son had been born by then. 

“He married again,” Lavli said. 

Lavli is working in another RMG 

factory in Savar. Her son lives with 

her parents in Gaibandha. “All I want 

now is to take care of my son and 

Four years have elapsed since the 

Rana Plaza building collapse, but 

there is no significant progress in 

the trial proceedings in the two 

cases filed over the country’s deadliest 

industrial disaster. 

Two separate Dhaka courts 

framed charges against 42 accused 

including building owner Sohel 

Rana in two cases, but the courts 

are yet to start recording statements 

of witnesses in the cases. 

The murder case filed for the 

deaths of workers is pending with 

Dhaka District and Sessions Judges 

Court due to various complications. 

On July 18 last year, the court 


including Sohel Rana in the case. 

Afterward, the court fixed four 

dates- on September 8, November 

17, January 22 and February 26 – to 

start recording statements of witnesses. 

But process has so far been 

blocked by various time petitions 

from both the defence and the 

prosecution. 

Public Prosecutor Khandaker 

Abdul Mannan told the Dhaka 

Tribune: “There are some complications 

that have been causing a 

delay in starting the recording of 

depositions.” 

He said the High Court had 

stayed trial proceedings against 

seven accused in the case. 

“Now we are waiting for suggestions 

from the attorney general to 

conduct the trial against the rest of 

the accused,” he said. 

Savar police station is not submitting 

a report on accused Abu 

Bakar Siddique who died recently, 

adding to the delay, he added. 

Of the accused: Sohel Rana, 

Rafiquel islam and Sarwar Kamal 

are in jail. Mahbubur Rahman, 

Farzana Islam, Monwar Hossain, 

Syed Shafiquel islam, Rezaul Islam, 

Nantu Contractor, Nayan Miah and 

Rezaul Karim are on the run and rest 

of the accused have obtained bail. 

The other case filed under the 

national building code is stuck with 

Dhaka Additional Chief Judicial 

Magistrate’s Court. 

On June 14 last year, the court 


including Sohel Rana in the case. 

Since then, the court has fixed 

many dates for recording statements 

of witnesses but it has been 

stalled by time petitions. 

The defence lawyers are filling 

time petitions on every scheduled 

date seeking adjournment, saying 

that three of the accused have 

challenged the case at the Dhaka 

District and Sessions Judges Court, 

which is pending. 

A total of 724 people are witnesses 

in the two cases.•

Workplace safety in 

govt-inspected RMG 

factories in limbo 

Units under Accord, Alliance see visible headway 

News 3 


DT 

Saddam Hossen, a victim of the Rana Plaza tragedy. The photo was taken yesterday 

MEHEDI HASAN 

• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi 

Though workplace safety in garment 

factories inspected by foreign 

retailers’ platforms has significantly 

improved since the tragic Rana 

Plaza incident, safety concerns in 

the government-monitored factories 

have not been addressed as 

expected. 

The foreign buyers’ platforms – 

Accord on Fire and Building Safety 

in Bangladesh (Accord) and Alliance 

for Bangladesh Worker Safety 

(Alliance) – have been working 

to improve safety standards in the 

country’s apparel industry since 

the horrific industrial disaster 

that took place in Savar, on the 

outskirts of Dhaka, in April 2013, 

leaving over 1,100 people dead and 

countless more maimed. 

Later, the government under the 

aegis of the International Labour Organization 

forged another platform 

– National Initiative (NI) – to inspect 

workers’ safety in factories that are 

not included in the two platforms. 

Overall, 77% of safety risks in 

the Accord-inspected factories 

have been addressed with 90% of 

defects fixed in electrical safety 

and 73% in fire safety standards, 

according to the latest data. 

On the other hand, 75% of flaws 

have been addressed in the Alliance-monitored 

ones with 81% of 

faults fixed in electrical safety and 

74% in fire safety measures. And, 

as of yesterday, 74 of the Alliance 

factories and 61 of the Accord factories 

implemented all provisions 

outlined in their Corrective Action 

Plans (CAPs). 

“Workplace safety in Bangladesh’s 

RMG sector has improved significantly 

in the past four years. But, 

there is still a lot to do for factories to 

be safe,” Accord Executive Director 

Rob Wayss told the Dhaka Tribune. 

Since many of the factories have 

yet to address their remediation issues, 

he put emphasis on completing 

remediation for their fire, electrical 

and structural safety. Wayss also 

underlined the need for retrofitting, 

emergency access and egress, and 

quick installation of fire detection 

and suppression equipment. 

Echoing Wayss, ILO Country 

Director in Bangladesh Srinivas B 

Reddy said there had been a considerable 

improvement in workplace 

safety in the sector thanks to 

the collective efforts of the government, 

Accord, Alliance, employers, 

workers’ organisations and other 

development partners. 

However, there has been no visible 

progress in safety measures 

taken for the NI-inspected factories 

as it is yet to start remediation process. 

As of now, only four factory 

owners have approved the CAPs, 

while the others are still awaiting 

the NI’s directives. 

As progress in the NI measures 

is slow compared to that of Accord 

and Alliance, Reddy said it was important 

to recognise that the work 

is more about ensuring safety than 

simply fixing flaws. 

He also highlighted the need for a 

credible and sustainable monitoring 

as well as compliance system to make 

sure the progress is sustainable. 

Md Shamsuzzaman Bhuiyan, inspector 

general of the Department 

of Inspection for Factories and Establishments 

(DIFE), said: “Remediation 

process under the NI will 

start very soon.” 

The DIFE has already finalised 

deals with 26 engineering farms to 

work on structural safety, while another 

20 farms have initially been 

selected to work on fire and electrical 

safety issues, he added. 

The official also said they were 

in discussion with some 90 engineers 

who would supervise the inspection 

work. 

According to the DIFE, 500 of 

the 1,549 NI-inspected factories 

are running business in their own 

buildings while the rest are housed 

in rented buildings. 

Shamsuzzaman said they would 

hold meeting with factory owners 

running business in their own buildings 

and set a time limit for them to 

finish their inspection work. 

“Those who are running business 

in shared or rented buildings will 

have to run the factories either in 

their own buildings or buildings that 

are safe; or else they will be asked to 

shut down the businesses,” he added. 

Sirajul Islam Rony, president 

of Bangladesh National Garment 

Workers Employees League, said: 

“No doubt workplace safety in the 

factories has improved to a great 

extent. But, there are concerns 

about the NI-monitored factories.” 

Stakeholders suggested developing 

a mechanism to complete 

the remediation process as soon as 

possible to avert any possible accident. 

And, the retailers’ platforms, 

trade union leaders, rights activists 

emphasised providing workers 

with necessary training and safety 

knowledge and building capacity 

of committees working on safety. • 

CPD Chairman Rehman Sobhan speaks at the ILO-CPD dialogue on readymade 

garments sector yesterday 

RAJIB DHAR 

CPD weighs in on 

lessons learned from 

Rana Plaza disaster 

• Shariful Islam 

Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) 

yesterday recommended introduction 

of social dialogue in the RMG 

sector, a practice of making public 

policy through engaging all stakeholders 

– the government, employers 

and worker representatives. 

The think tank along with International 

Labour Organisation (ILO) 

organised the dialogue at Gardenia 

restaurant in Gulshan on the occasion 

of the Rana Plaza disaster’s 

fourth anniversary. 

ILO Country Director Srinivas B 

Reddy explained the importance of 

social dialogue, saying: “It provides 

a tool to build trust and inclusion, 

and to reduce the risk of labour 

unrest. Enhanced social dialogue 

can help workers and employers 

to form a high quality partnership 

where they share goals and objectives. 

By providing all social partners 

with an opportunity to engage 

in the decisions that shape their 

society, social dialogue can help to 

constructively reduce inequalities.” 

The discussion “Catalysing social 

dialogue in the RMG sector of Bangladesh” 

was presided over by CPD 

Chairperson Prof Rehman Sobhan 

who said workers have to be made 

fundamental stakeholders in the 

enterprises, where they work and 

where they are seen as business 

partners rather than dependent on 

the market forces in order to establish 

a balanced relationship between 

the employees and the employers. 

He spoke on the inaction of the 

government about the largest industrial 

disaster in Bangladesh. 

“This is the fourth year of the Rana 

Plaza tragedy and, the shame on 

the country, but I have not noticed, 

on the anniversary of Rana Plaza 

over the last four years, any discussion 

in the highest body of the land 

– our parliament – to see progress 

has been made and what level of 

accountability has been achieved 

and exercised by the government. 

“The disaster brought to light 

the whole weakness in the governance 

system, shedding light on 

a complete lack of oversight and 

a politically influential property 

owner who could use its influence 

to ensure the enforcement mechanism 

is not put in place,” said Prof 

Rehman Sobhan. 

Studies on social dialogue revealed 

the challenges of implementing 

the process is a lack of 

interest or unwillingness of governments 

and stakeholders which may 

be due to the prevailing tradition 

and “weakness” of social partners. 

The CPD chairperson said: “I 

have not seen any parliamentary 

committee sitting and made responsible 

for overseeing all the 

critical elements which are actually 

being put in place to see whether 

they are being enforced. 

“This is a question that the lawmakers 

should address.” He added 

that the highest legal and political 

bodies in Bangladesh should constantly 

address this issue and exercise 

their political oversight to sort 

out problems at the heart of the 

Rana Plaza tragedy. 

CPD Research Director Khondaker 

Golam Moazzem presented the 

data from his study on the Rana 

Plaza disaster at the dialogue called 

“Strengthening social dialogue 

mechanism under weak enabling 

environment: case of RMG sector.” 

Distinguished Fellow of CPD Debapriya 

Bhattacharya moderated 

the discussion while Secretary of 

Ministry of Labour and Employment 

(MoLE) Mikail Shipar, and 

Vice-President of Bangladesh Garment 

Manufacturers and Exporters 

Association (BGMEA) Mahmud 

Hasan Khan Babu spoke, among 

others, at the discussion. •

4 


DT 

David Cameron 

due in Dhaka 

April 26 

• Syed Zainul Abedin 

Former British prime minister David 

Cameron is scheduled to arrive 

in Dhaka on a two-day visit starting 

from April 26. 

The British politician is expected 

to meet Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina on April 27, said a diplomatic 

source in the Foreign Ministry. 

According to the source, Cameron 

is coming to Bangladesh at the 

invitation of a local NGO, and will 

be inspecting its development activities 

during his stay here. 

Cameron would undertake his 

first ever visit to Bangladesh ever 

since he stood down on the back of 

Britain’s vote to leave the European 

Union last year. • 

News 

Countrywide situation improves, yet CHT 

remains extremely malaria endemic 

• Nawaz Farhin 

Despite significant success in preventing 

malaria between 2010 and 

2016 throughout Bangladesh, the 

prevalence rate of the mosquito-borne 

infectious disease still remains 

very alarmingly high across 

Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), especially 

in the remote areas. 

The ailment has been endemic 

in 71 upazilas under thirteen eastern 

and northeastern districts in 

Bangladesh’s border belt covering 

98% of total malaria cases. 

The three hill districts – Bandarban, 

Rangamati, and Khagrachhari 

– alone reports 93% of the cases. 

Mentioning the figures from 

the National Malaria Control Programme 

(NMCP), Director General 

of Directorate General of Health Services 

(DGHS) Abul Kalam Azad yesterday 

said the CHT districts are seeing 

higher malaria cases as they are 

along the border and forested areas. 

He was addressing a media briefing 

jointly organised by the NMCP 

and NGO organisation Brac before 

the World Malaria Day on April 25. 

An NMCP estimate says the 

number of people diagnosed with 

Malaria dropped by 50% in 2016 

with 27,737 cases, whereas the figure 

stood at 39,719 and 57,840 in 

the previous two years. Some 55, 

837 cases were registered in 2010. 

Deaths from malaria dipped by 

54% last year when 17 people died. 

Malaria claimed nine lives in 2015, 

which is one-fifth the figure recorded 

a year ago. In 2010, malaria 

saw 37 people dying. 

NMCP Monitoring and Evaluation 

Expert Dr Md Nazrul Islam 

said Bangladesh needs to go a long 

way for malaria eradication since 

17.5 million people are still at risk 

of the disease. 

He insisted on a fresh guideline 

targeting challenges, including surveillance 

in non-endemic areas, 

that were not addressed before. 

He also recommended reducing 

malaria cases in the most endemic 

districts, ensure proper services for 

the higher risk groups, and bolster 

the existing surveillance system to 

help plug gaps in combating malaria. 

Speakers at the programme 

suggested hot spot identification 

based on village-level malaria cases, 

SMS-based real time case reporting, 

verbal autopsy of all malaria 

deaths, and unique referral 

system of malaria patients from 

respective community. 

Sania Tohmina, director of 

Disease Control of DGHS, and Dr 

SM Akhtaruzzaman, deputy programme 

manager of NMCP, among 

others, also spoke at the event. • 

Bangladesh to spend $97m 

in vaccination project 

• Nawaz Farhin 

Bangladesh has a budget of $97 

million to spend on sustainable 

vaccination programme in 

2017 throughout the country. 

A total of 17% of the budget 

will be funded by the development 

partners of the Maternal 

Neonatal Child and Adolescent 

Health Programme, Dr 

Jahangir Alam Sarker, line director 

of the programme, said 

yesterday. 

Dr Jahangir was speaking at 

a press briefing at the Institute 

of Epidemiology Disease Control 

and Research (IEDCR) in 

Mohakhali, Dhaka. 

The Ministry of Health 

and Family Welfare and the 

country office of World Health 

Organisation (WHO) jointly 

organised the Expanded 

Programme on Immunisation 

(EPI) in Bangladesh to mark 

World Immunisation Week. 

The programme will begin on 

April 24 and conclude on April 

30. 

The Directorate General of 

Health Services (DGHS) will 

host the EPI programme titled 

“Vaccines Work to Save Lives” 

in 2017 on behalf of the WHO. 

Abul Kalam Azad, director 

general of DGHS, said the ratio of 

vaccine receiver children under 

one year has increased from 2% 

to 99% between 1985 and 2015. 

”The project had six antigens 

to offer in 1979 and it has 

11 in 2015. We aim to make it 13 

in 2018,” said the DGHS director 

general. 

The programme aims to 

increase awareness among 

Bangladeshi people about vaccination 

and promote locality-based 

awareness creation 

programmes. 

Bangladesh has the polio 

free status since 2006 and 

achieved the Maternal and 

Neonatal Tetanus Elimination 

goal in 2008. • 

Young Bangladeshi innovators 

compete in Manila 

• Tribune Desk 

Team Parasitica, with three 

Bangladeshi innovators, are 

competing in the South East 

Asia regional final round of 

Microsoft Imagine Cup 2017 in 

Manila, Philippines. 

The skill-based competition 

run by the software giant 

began yesterday and will run 

until April 26. 

Thohidul Islam and Syed 

Nakib Hossain from the Electrical 

and Electronic Engineering 

department and Fazle 

Rahat from the Computer Science 

and Engineering department 

are all final-year students 

at Bangladesh University of 

Engineering and Technology. 

Their project is an app, fasTnosis, 

which allows users to 

self-diagnose parasitic diseases 

like tuberculosis, malaria, etc. 

“This opportunity has propelled 

our drive towards introducing 

greater convenience 

and comfort for people globally,” 

Thohidul, team leader of 

Parasitica, said. 

The top seven teams from 

the regional final will head to 

the World Finals this July. •

Mayors lock horns over coloured bus plan 

• Shohel Mamun 

An uncomfortable scene ensued 

during a meeting among the Road 

Transport Ministry and the two 

Dhaka city corporations yesterday 

when the south mayor accused his 

counterpart of bypassing him on a 

citywide plan. 

The focus of the ninth board 

meeting of Dhaka Transport Coordination 

Authority (DTCA), held at 

the Dhaka South City Corporation 

(DSCC) headquarters, was Dhaka 

North City Corporation (DNCC) 

Mayor Annisul Huq’s famous colour-coded 

bus plan, which he has 

been talking about since taking office. 

In the meeting, Annisul unveiled 

that a consultant team had carried 

out a study and was almost done 

drawing up a proposal. 

But he was interrupted in 

the middle of his PowerPoint 

presentation by the South Mayor 

Sayeed Khokon, who asked: “I 

do not know about the study 

and colour-coded buses. Will the 

colour-coded buses run in the 

north city corporation only?” 

Annisul replied: “No, the buses 

will be run throughout Dhaka.” 

Several seconds of silence ensued 

as Mayor Sayeed exchanged 

looks with other officials who were 

present in the meeting. 

He asked again: “Why were we 

not informed about this important 

plan?” 

The north mayor appeared dismissive 

of his colleague, saying: 

“You will be informed in time. The 

initiative came from the road transport 

ministry and Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina has already been 

informed.” 

Road Transport and Bridges 

Minister Obaidul Quader, who was 

presiding over the meeting as DTCA 

chairman, intervened, saying: 

“Sayeed, you are being informed 

through this meeting. Please do 

not create any misunderstanding 

over the matter.” 

Mayor Sayeed appeared unwilling 

to concede. He continued: 

“How funny it is that the DNCC 

mayor did not inform us about the 

issue. Even the bus owners did not 

News 5 


inform us.” 

Khandaker Enayetullah, secretary 

general of Bangladesh Sarak 

Paribahan Malik Samity, said: “We 

tried to meet with you, but never 

we got any appointments.” 

Sayeed replied: “I am always 

available at my office. You have 

never contacted me.” 

Annisul interrupted, saying: 

“You are my younger brother, I will 

discuss the issue personally with 

you.” 

The tiff appeared to end there. 

Annisul said at the meeting 

that the study conducted 

recommends operating 4,000 

buses of six different colours 

under six companies to solve the 

indiscipline in the public transport 

system. 

“After completion of the 

detailed project plan, we will 

disclose the plan or the policy 

through a seminar. Then the prime 

minister will decide who will 

execute the plan. We do not know 

if it will be the city corporations or 

the road transport authority,” he 

added. • 

DT 

Raudha’s father says all 

clues hint she was strangled 

• Abdullah Al Dulal, Rajshahi 

Mohamed Athif, the father of Maldivian 

model and Rajshahi Islami 

Bank Medical College student 

Raudha Athif, reiterated that his 

daughter did not commit suicide, 

who he said was murdered. 

During a press meet in Rajshahi 

yesterday morning, he said there 

were numerous inconsistencies in 

the evidence found in the crime 

scene, and also in the autopsy report. 

Athif said: “During a suicide, 

one would throw saliva and urinate 

involuntarily, and the limbs 

would not remain unkempt at the 

spot of death. But, Raudha’s body 

was found with her fists tightly 

clenched, a common case in strangulation.” 

“Even, finger impressions were 

clearly found on her neck, which 

would not have been there had 

she really hanged herself. Such 

marks could not have formed from 

hanging using a cotton scarf,” he 

observed. 

Mohamed, also a doctor, said all 

the clues found so far only point 

towards a death caused from strangulation. 

He said a conspiracy to 

cover up the death by labelling it as 

a suicide is going on. 

“Since nobody saw her hanging 

and all the photos show the body 

lying on the bed, it only deepens 

the doubt that Raudha did not 

hang herself,” Mohamed added. 

He questioned the ongoing investigation 

and autopsy result that 

ruled the death a self-killing. He 

raised his eyebrows over the forensic 

team and hospital authorities, 

accusing them of negligence in 

post-mortem. 

Athif said neither an X-ray nor 

an MRI test had been conducted 

upon Raudha’s head or neck during 

the autopsy. 

Raudha, 20, was found dead 

at her medical college dorm on 

March 29. • 

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY 

Dhaka 34 27 Chittagong 30 27 Rajshahi 38 26 Rangpur 29 23 Khulna 38 27 Barisal 34 27 Sylhet 28 22 

Cox’s Bazar 31 26 

HEAVY RAIN LIKELY 

MONDAY, APRIL 24 

DHAKA 

TODAY 

TOMORROW 

SUN SETS 6:24PM 

SUN RISES 5:29AM 

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW 

35.0ºC 

19.6ºC 

Jessore 

Chandpur 

Source: Accuweather/UNB 

PRAYER 

TIMES 

Fajr: 5:00am | Zohr: 1:15pm 

Asr: 5:00pm | Magrib: 6:31pm 

Esha: 8:30pm 

Source: Islamic Foundation

6 


DT 

News 

Green Line 2 was speeding, allege passengers 

• Anisur Rahman Swapan, Barisal 

Survivors of MV Green Line 2 that 

capsized after hitting a coal-laden 

cargo in Kirtankhola River in Barisal 

Saturday afternoon claim that 

the accident occurred since the 

launch was speeding. 

While talking to the Dhaka Tribune, 

many of them have blamed the 

negligence of the driver of the launch 

for the incident which could be fatal. 

Over 400 passengers and crews 

were in the launch at that time of the 

accident. The launch has a capacity 

to house around 700 passengers. 

The district administration has 

formed a five-member committee 

headed by additional deputy commissioner 

Zakir Hossain and asked 

it to submit a report within seven 

working days. 

Rescue vessel MV NIRVIK, which 

has a capacity to pull out maximum 

250 tonnes, reached the spot Saturday 

night. 

The cargo, MV Masud-Mamun 1, 

was spotted at 23-metre depth and 

marked with buoys. It was carrying 

at least 525 tonnes of coal. 

The rescue vessel left the spot 

yesterday. Officials say the cargo 

and the launch, weighing over 645 

tonnes, could be pulled out with privately-owned 

rescue vessels. 

The accident occurred only 20 

minutes after the launch left Barisal 

Port. Green Line officials say the 

bottom of the launch cracked after 

hitting the cargo near the erosion 

affected area of Lamchhari under Sadar 

area around 3:20pm. 

The driver then took a U-turn and 

managed to anchor the launch at the 

shore near Charbaria while water 

was entering the lower deck. Some 

of the passengers had jumped off the 

launch. 

The cargo turned turtle and sank 

immediately, while its crews managed 

to swim to the shore. 

No casualties were reported. All 

the passengers and crews of the 

launch were transported to Dhaka by 

MV Sundarbans. 

“The reason behind such a headon 

collision in broad daylight and 

with clear visibility will be investigated 

properly, BIWTA official Azmal 

added. 

He said that they needed to move 

the cargo from the spot to maintain 

navigability of the channel. The salvage 

of the capsized vessel would 

Dinajpur boiler blast death 

toll rises to 12 


The death toll from 

Wednesday’s boiler explosion 

at Jamuna Auto Rice Mill in 

Gopalganj of Dinajpur district 

jumped to twelve as five more 

critically injured workers 

succumbed to their injuries 

yesterday. 

Mukul Chandra Roy, Munna, 

Dulal Chandra Roy, Udoy 

Chandra Roy, and Safikul Islam, 

aged between 32 and 40, 

died at Rajshahi Medical College 

Hospital. 

Ripon, 30, passed away 

at Dinajpur M Abdul Rahim 

Medical College Hospital 

while Ranjit, 34 and Delwar 

Hossain, 30, at Dhaka Medical 

start after contacting with its owner. 

Md Badsha, Barisal supervisor of 

Green Line, said that the accident created 

a 14x14 inch hole at the bottom 

of the lower deck. The vessel would 

be tugged to the dock for repair. 

The company continued regular 

service between Dhaka and Barisal 

yesterday with MV Green Line 3, 

Waliullah, supervisor of Green Line’s 

Dhaka office, said. 

He blamed the cargo for the accident, 

while launch passengers 

alleged that the launch driver had 

not slowed down the vessel when it 

reached a turn. • 

114,000 hectare Boro 

crops damaged in four 

Sylhet districts 

• Serajul Islam, Sylhet 

The recent flash flood caused 

by incessant rain over the last 

few days has inundated nearly 

standing Boro paddy on about 

114,000 hectares of land in four 

districts of Sylhet division. 

According to the Department 

of Agriculture Extension 

(DAE), Sunamganj is the most 

affected area in the division. 

The standing crops on some 

57,289 hectares of land in Haor 

areas went under water. 

On the other hand, the crops 

on 34,379 hectares in Sylhet; 

10,277 hectares in Moulvibazar; 

and 11, 737 hectares in Habiganj 

have been damaged. 

Over 341,000 farmers have 

become victim of the flood in 

the division. Of them, 171,870 

in Sunamganj; 103,104 in Sylhet; 

30,828 in Moulvibazar; 

and 35,211 in Habiganj are adversely 

affected. 

The DAE officials say Boro 

paddy was cultivated on 4.76 

lakh hectares of land this year 

in the division with a production 

target of 2.49 lakh tonnes 

rice. 

Sylhet divisional DAE Deputy 

Director Dr Mamunur 

Rashid yesterday said: “We 

have taken steps to inspire 

the farmers for cultivating Aus 

and Aman paddy in the affected 

areas so that they can overcome 

the losses soon.” 

Asked about the compensation 

for damaged crops, he said 

that the higher authorities had 

been informed of the situation. 

Abul Hashem, DAE deputy 

director of Sylhet district, said 

that the farmers in the affected 

areas could do nothing with 

the damaged crops as they got 

rotten. 

The farmers should be prepared 

to cultivate Aus, Aman 

and other seasonal crops immediately 

after the flood water 

receded, he added. • 

College Hospital. 

Anjali Rani Roy, 45, Moksed 

Ali, 48, Ariful Islam, 45, and 

Rustam Ali died earlier after 

the explosion. 

RMCH burn and plastic surgery 

department head Prof Dr 

Maruful Islam said 22 injured 

workers were taken to the 

hospital, of whom five people 

died yesterday. 

The remaining workers are 

in a critical condition with 

90% burns, he added. 

The explosion occurred 

around 11:30am on Wednesday 

from an overheated rice boiler, 

injuring 28 workers. 

On Thursday, a six-member 

committee was formed to 

probe the incident. •

Prof Rezaul’s colleagues, 

students demand death 

for killers 

News 7 


DT 

• Abdullah Al Dulal, 

Rajshahi 

The teachers and students 

of Rajshahi University have 

sought the prime minister’s interference 

in the investigation 

of Prof AFM Rezaul Karim Siddique 

murder. 

They formed a human chain 

and held a rally on the campus 

yesterday under the banner 

of RU Teachers’ Association 

(Ruta) to mark the first anniversary 

of death of the English 

department teacher. 

Prof Rezaul was killed at the 

hands of militants, linked to 

Islamic State, in Rajshahi town 

last year. Police submitted the 

charge sheet on November 6 

last year accusing eight militants. 

Four of the accused are in 

jail, three others have been 

killed in alleged gunfights with 

the law enforcers, while the 

mastermind is on the run. 

Ruta President Prof Nazrul 

Islam demanded that the government 

take proper measures 

to stop the series of murders of 

teachers and students at the 

university. 

Former Ruta president Prof 

Shahidullah expressed frustration 

over the sluggish trial process. 

”The police have pressed 

charges in the case, but there is 

no update after that. We want to 

see the killers hanged,” he said. 

The agitating teachers and 

students also submitted a 

memorandum to the Rajshahi 

police superintendent seeking 

quick trial in the case. 

They also asked the police 

to ensure congenial atmosphere 

on the campus – a 

stronghold of radical Islamists 

– for everyone. 

Sociology department 

teacher Prof AKM Shafiul Islam 

was hacked by assailants near 

his house at Chouddopai area 

of Rajshahi on November 15, 

2014. Al-Qaeda in the Indian 

Subcontinent (AQIS) claimed 

responsibiity for the murder. 

On February 1, 2006, geography 

department’s Prof S Taher 

was hacked inside the university’s 

residential area. 

RU economics department’s 

Prof Dr Younus was hacked by 

assailants while he was waking 

in Binodpur area on December 

28, 2004. • 

Rain floods jute fields in Rajbari 

• Tanveer Mahmood, 

Rajbari 

Most of the jute fields in Sadar 

and Baliakandi upazilas of Rajbari 

district have been flooded 

following last few days’ heavy 

rainfall. 

Farmers fear huge losses as 

the stagnated water has been 

showing no sign of receding. 

Pranesh Biswas, a jute 

grower from Jamalpur of Baliakandi, 

told the Dhaka Tribune: 

“All the jute fields in the 

low-lying areas of Hatimohon 

Beel have been flooded in the 

rainfall. All the jute plants will 

rot. The plants grown in comparatively 

higher plots may 

survive.” 

About 50,000 hectares of 

land were brought under jute 

cultivation in Rajbari this year. 

Johor Ali Sheikh, another 

flood-affected jute grower 

from Rajbari Sadar, said 

that the damages could have 

been reduced had the water 

be drained out from the fields 

through the canals. But it is 

not happening. 

Deputy Director of the district’s 

Department of Agricultural 

Extension Nibas Debnath 

yesterday said that they had 

been observing the overall 

flood situation in the district 

and would inform the higher 

authorities about the matter. •

DT 

8 

World 


SOUTH ASIA 

Few clues on casualties at 

site of huge US bomb in 

Afghanistan 

The remote site in eastern Afghanistan 

where the US military 

dropped its largest non-nuclear 

bomb ever bears signs of the weapon’s 

power, but little evidence of 

how much material and human 

damage it inflicted. Some of the 

first images from journalists 

allowed to get close to the site, 

reveal a scarred mountainside, 

burned trees and some ruined 

mud-brick structures. AFP 

INDIA 

Tamil Nadu farmers 

suspend protest till May 25 

Drought-hit Tamil Nadu farmers, 

who have been protesting in the 

national capital for the last 41 

days, called off their agitation on 

Sunday after chief minister Edappadi 

Palaniswami met with them 

earlier in the day. The farmers 

decided to put off their stir till May 

25, after Palaniswami promised 

to take up their demands with PM 

Narendra Modi. The farmers have 

been demanding a Rs40,000 crore 

drought relief package. HT 

CHINA 

China urges Korea 

peninsula denuclearisation 

China’s foreign minister called 

Sunday for the complete denuclearisation 

of the Korean peninsula 

amid rising tension over 

North Korea’s missile and nuclear 

programmes. “China is firmly 

supporting the denuclearisation 

of the area in the name of stability 

and peace”, Wang Yi told reporters 

in Athens after meeting Greek 

counterpart Nikos Kotzias. AFP 

ASIA PACIFIC 

US warship in west Pacific 

for Japan navy drills 

The US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson 

and other warships started joint exercises 

with Japan on Sunday, the 

US navy said, as regional tensions 

rise over North Korea’s missile and 

nuclear programmes. The exercises 

are being held in the Philippine Sea, 

as the naval strike group “continued 

its northern transit in the 

Western Pacific”. REUTERS 

MIDDLE EAST 

Drone strike kills 5 Qaeda 

suspects in Yemen 

A presumed US drone strike in 

south Yemen on Sunday killed five 

suspected members of al-Qaeda 

and three civilians, a security 

official said. Earlier, a local official 

gave a toll of three suspects killed 

in the strike in the Al-Said area of 

Shabwa province. AFP 

France may catch populist wave in 

presidential election 


French voters began casting ballots 

for the presidential election 

Sunday under heightened security 

in a tense first-round poll that’s 

seen as a test for the spread of populism 

around the world. 

Over 60,000 polling stations 

opened for voters who will choose 

between 11 candidates in the most 

unpredictable election in decades. 

Security was tight after a deadly 

attack on the Champs Elysees on 

Thursday in which a police officer 

and a gunman were slain. The government 

has mobilised more than 

50,000 police and gendarmes to 

protect polling stations, with an 

additional 7,000 soldiers on patrol. 

It’s the first time in living memory 

a presidential election is taking 

place during a state of emergency, 

FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: KEY 1 ST ROUND NUMBERS 

Registered voters Latest polls 

Millions 

Percentage support (margins of error included)* 

46 47 

2012 

Abstention 

In percent 

28.4 

2002 

16.2 20.5 

2007 

Emmanuel Macron 

2017 

Centre 

19.4 

26.6% 

Marine Le Pen 

26 to 

Far right 

19.4 

26.2 

34% 

Francois FIllon 

Right 

16.3 22.5 

Jean-Luc Melenchon 

Far left 

14.6 

22.5 

Benoit Hamon 

Left 

5.9 10.8 

2012 2017 

estimate 

5 10 15 20 25 30 

2012 2017 

10 candidates 

11, six of whom ran in 2012 

2012 first round results In percent 

which 28.6% was 27.2 put in place after the 

Paris attacks of November 2015. 

17.9 

As of noon Sunday, 28.5% of 

11.1 

9.1 

French voters had shown up to 

cast ballots in an election seen as 

unprecedented here. The French 

2.3 1.8 1.1 0.6 0.3 

Hollande 

Francois 

Sarkozy 

Nicolas Marine 

Le Pen Melenchon 

Jean-Luc Francois Eva 

Bayrou Joly Dupont- 

Nicolas Philippe Nathalie Jacques 

Aignan 

Poutou ArthaudCheminade 

UK parties set 

Sources: 

out 

Interior Ministry, 

election 

*aggregation of 14 polls (April 13-19) 

stalls: 

from 8 pollsters 

Holidays, burka bans, Brexit vote 

• Reuters, London 

More holidays, a burka ban and an end 

to hard Brexit - just some of the policies 

Britain’s opposition parties hope 

will prevent an overwhelming election 

victory by Conservative Prime Minister 

Theresa May in June. 

With some polls giving May a more 

than 20 point lead before the June 8 

vote, the main opposition Labour Party 

pledged on Sunday to introduce four 

new public holidays to try to unite a country 

left deeply divided by the Brexit vote. 

The Liberal Democrats, who were 

a distant fourth in the last election, 

reiterated their message that they 

were the only “decent opposition” to a 

government it says is pursuing a ‘hard 

Brexit’, while the eurosceptic UK Independence 

Party said it would ban full 

veils worn by some Muslim women. 

The early election, which stunned 

British politicians, could redraw the 

political landscape after Brexit exposed 

deep fault-lines in Britain, with 

Scotland and northern Ireland voting 

to remain in the EU while England and 

Wales supported an exit. 

Britain can expect to hear more 

promises in the weeks before the 

election, but with May way out ahead 

in the polls, it is unclear what impact 

they will have. 

The Conservatives were also seen 

making inroads in Scotland, with pollster 

Survation saying they had opened 

up a 10 percentage point lead over the 

Scottish Labour Party. • 

German AfD party pick election duo 

Alice Weidel, left, and Alexander Gauland 


The anti-immigrant Alternative for 

Germany (AfD) party on Sunday 

voted for 76-year-old publicist Alexander 

Gauland and 38-year-old 

economist Alice Weidel to jointly 

lead its campaign for the country’s 

September national election. 

A majority of AfD delegates 

REUTERS 

backed the two candidates at a congress 

in Cologne. The right-wing 

AfD is seeking to win seats in the national 

parliament for the first time. 

The vote followed a surprise 

announcement on Wednesday by 

co-leader Frauke Petry, the party’s 

public face, that she would not 

lead the AfD’s election campaign. 

This could boost mainstream parties 

and lessen the threat the rightwing 

AfD poses to Chancellor Angela 

Merkel’s bid for a fourth term. 

The latest polls put the AfD on 8% 

to 10%, around a third lower than at 

the end of last year but still above the 

5% threshold for entering the Bundestag 

lower house of parliament. 

Gauland is widely seen a supporter 

of senior AfD member Bjoern 

Hoecke, who caused outrage 

in January by calling Berlin’s Holocaust 

Memorial a “monument 

of shame” and demanding a “180 

degree turnaround” in Germany’s 

attempts to atone for Nazi crimes. 

Weidel, a little-known figure in 

the AfD who is seen as a more moderate 

voice, is in favour of Hoecke 

being expelled. She has sought to 

establish herself as a financial and 

economy expert in the party. • 

interior ministry said that’s slightly 

above the rate in the 2012 vote. 

Opinion polls point to a tight 

race among the four leading contenders 

vying to advance to the 

May 7 presidential runoff, when 

the top two candidates face off. 

Polls suggest far-right nationalist 

Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron, 

an independent centrist and 

former economy minister, were in 

the lead. But conservative Francois 

Fillon, a former prime minister, 

who was embroiled in a scandal 

over alleged fake jobs appeared to 

be closing the gap, as was far-left 

candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon. 

US President Donald Trump 

weighed in on the campaign on 

Friday, expressing support for the 

Le Pen, saying she is “strongest on 

borders, and she’s the strongest on 

what’s been going on in France.” • 

EU mulls legislation 

in the fight against 

online hate speech 

• Reuters, Brussels 

The European Union is considering 

legislative measures to harmonise 

how online platforms like Facebook, 

Twitter and Google take down hate 

speech and incitement to violence, 

according to a draft document. 

The proliferation of hate speech 

and fake news on social media has 

led to companies coming under 

increased pressure to take it down 

quickly. 

In a draft policy paper, the European 

Commission says there is 

a “high degree of variation in the 

approaches taken to removal of illegal 

content – be it incitement to 

terrorism, hate speech, child sexual 

abuse material, or infringements 

of intellectual property rights”. 

The Commission says it may 

come forward with legislative and/ 

or non-legislative instruments by 

the end of the year to address “legal 

fragmentation and uncertainty 

related to the removal of illegal 

content by online platforms”. 

Germany last month unveiled a 

law which would fine social media 

companies up to $53.62m if they 

fail to remove hate postings quickly, 

prompting concerns it could 

threaten free speech. 

Facebook, Twitter, Google’s You- 

Tube and Microsoft last year agreed 

to an EU code of conduct to tackle 

online hate speech within 24 hours, 

but were criticised by the Commission 

for not being fast enough. •

Furious Afghans call for resignations 

after Taliban base attack 

• AFP, Mazar-i-Sharif 

Afghan families buried their dead 

and the country observed a national 

day of mourning Sunday after at least 

100 soldiers were killed or wounded 

in a Taliban attack on a military base, 

prompting angry calls for ministers 

and army chiefs to resign. 

The exact toll from Friday’s assault 

in the northern province of 

Balkh remained unclear, with some 

local officials putting the number of 

dead alone as high as 150. 

The raid, the deadliest-ever by 

the Taliban on a military base, underscores 

their growing strength 

more than 15 years after they were 

ousted from power. 

Maldives liberal blogger stabbed to death 

• AFP, Male 

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, right, meets with Egypt’s 

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Riyadh on April 23 

REUTERS 

Egypt’s Sisi visits Saudi 

Arabia as tensions ease 

• AFP, Riyadh 

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah 

al-Sisi received a royal welcome 

from King Salman as he landed 

Sunday in Saudi Arabia for a visit to 

boost ties after months of tension. 

Salman, surrounded by key 

Saudi officials, greeted Sisi as he 

stepped off the plane in the capital 

Riyadh and hosted him for lunch, 

the official Saudi Press Agency said. 

The Egyptian presidency announced 

the visit in a statement on 

Friday, saying Sisi’s trip was in response 

to an invitation by Salman 

and aimed at “bolstering strategic relations 

between the two countries”. 

It said Salman and Sisi would 

discuss “regional and international 

issues of common interest”. 

Sisi met Salman on the sidelines 

of an Arab League summit in 

Jordan last month to break the ice 

after months of apparent tensions 

between the two allies. 

That encounter on March 29 

came days after Egypt announced 

that Saudi energy giant Aramco had 

resumed delivering shipments of 

petroleum products after abruptly 

suspending them in October. • 

A liberal blogger was stabbed to death 

in the Maldives’ capital Sunday, his family 

and colleagues said, the latest media 

personality to be targeted in the troubled 

honeymoon destination. 

Yameen Rasheed, 29, was found 

in the stairwell of his Male apartment 

with multiple stab wounds to his neck 

and chest. He died after being taken to 

hospital. 

His blog, The Daily Panic, was known 

for poking fun at the nation’s politicians. 

“With The Daily Panic, I hope to cover 

and comment upon the news, satirise 

the frequently unsatirisable politics 

of Maldives,” he wrote on his blog. 

Colleagues said Rasheed had recently 

complained to police about 

death threats received through his social 

media accounts. 

He is the third media figure to be 

targeted in the Maldives in the past five 

years. Blogger Ismail Rasheed narrowly 

escaped death when he was stabbed 

by an unidentified attacker in 2012. 

A journalist with the independent 

Minivan News, Ahmed Rilwan, was 

likely abducted in August 2014 and has 

World 

Afghan activists pay tribute to the victims of a Taliban attack on an army base at 

a memorial on the Wazir Akbar Khan hilltop in Kabul on April 23 

AFP 

Flags flew at half-mast throughout 

the country and special prayers 

were said for the dead. 

The defence ministry gave a figure 

of at least 100 soldiers killed or 

wounded. Kabul has so far ignored 

media calls for a complete breakdown 

of casualties from the fivehour 

attack near the provincial 

capital of Mazar-i-Sharif. 

There was also growing anger 

online, with many slamming 

the government for its inability to 

counter a series of brazen Taliban 

assaults, including one on the country’s 

largest military hospital in Kabul 

in March that left dozens dead. 

Twelve army officers, including 

two generals, were sacked for negligence 

over that attack. 

Many internet commentators 

called for the resignation of Defence 

Minister Abdullah Habibi 

and the commander of the 209th 

Corps stationed at the base. • 

Iran to air live presidential 

debates after U-turn 

• AFP, Tehran 

Iran will air live debates on state 

television ahead of May’s presidential 

election, the interior ministry 

said Sunday, reversing a decision 

to show recorded versions 

that had triggered an outcry. 

“After demands by the Iranian 

nation and the candidates for a 

review (of the decision), the presidential 

elections campaign commission 

decided... that debates 

may be broadcast live,” the ministry 

said in a statement on official 

news agency IRNA. 

The U-turn came days after 

the commission, which sets campaigning 

rules ahead of the May 19 

poll, said the debates would not be 

broadcast live as in previous elections, 

sparking outrage on social 

media. 

Moderate President Hassan 

Rouhani and his conservative rivals 

Ebrahim Raisi and Mohammad 

Bagher Ghalibaf all rejected 

the ban. 

Yameen Rasheed 

TWITTER 

Televised debates are a relatively 

new feature of Iranian presidential 

elections and are believed 

to have influenced the results of 

votes in 2009 and 2013. 

The ban on live debates was 

seen as an attempt to avoid embarrassing 

certain candidates by exposing 

details about their actions 

in previous roles. 

Ghalibaf lost momentum in a 

2013 election bid after his rival 

Rouhani said the hardline former 

police chief had proposed allowing 

student protests in 1999 so security 

forces could crush them. 

In 2009, live debates between 

conservative incumbent 

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and reformist 

candidates Mehdi Karroubi 

and Mir Hossein Mousavi turned 

into heated exchanges of accusations 

that many said went too far 

for the regime. 

Karroubi and Mousavi have 

been under house arrest since 2011 

for leading protests against the 

re-election of Ahmadinejad. • 

been missing ever since. 

Colleagues said Yameen Rasheed 

was Rilwan’s friend and had been publicly 

campaigning for an investigation 

into the disappearance. 

Past and current presidents condemned 

the killing. 

“We will not stand idly by while such 

acts of hatred are forced upon our citizens,” 

President Abdulla Yameen said, 

appealing for people to come forward 

with information. 

Exiled opposition leader and 

ex-president Mohamed Nasheed demanded 

an international investigation. 

Nasheed, who is living in London, 

said on Twitter that “a treasured soul 

has been stolen from us”. • 

9 


USA 

Top US officials to testify 

in Trump-Russia probe 

reboot 

The US House of Representatives 

Intelligence Committee said on 

Friday it had invited FBI, NSA and 

Obama administration officials to 

testify as it restarts its investigation 

into alleged Russian meddling 

in the 2016 US election. The bipartisan 

committee said it sent a letter 

inviting James Comey to appear 

behind closed doors on May 2. AFP 

THE AMERICAS 

Silent protest over 20 

deaths in Venezuela 

Dressed in white, Venezuelan 

protesters opposed to President 

Nicolas Maduro marched in silence 

in several cities on Saturday to pay 

respects to 20 people killed in three 

weeks of unrest. Unlike demonstrations 

in recent days, the rallies in 

Caracas, Maracaibo, Barquisimeto 

and San Cristobal passed with no 

major violence reported between 

protesters and police. AFP 

UK 

May’s Conservatives 

on course for sweeping 

election victory 

Theresa May appeared on course to 

win a crushing election victory in 

June after opinion polls put support 

for her ruling Conservative party 

at around 50%, double that of the 

opposition Labour party. May’s decision 

to call a June 8 election stunned 

her political rivals this week and a 

string of polls released late on Saturday 

suggested the gamble had paid 

off, with one from ComRes showing 

the party of Margaret Thatcher 

enjoying levels of support not seen 

since 1991. REUTERS 

EUROPE 

Thousands of Hungarians 

rally to mock PM Orban 

Thousands of Hungarians joined a 

rally mocking Prime Minister Viktor 

Orban on Saturday, in the latest protest 

against what they call his attacks 

on democracy and human rights. 

Around 4,000-5,000 demonstrators 

walked with banners bearing heavily 

ironic slogans such as “we do not 

need elections”. REUTERS 

AFRICA 

Top conservationist shot 

in Kenya gun attack 

DT 

Italian-born conservationist and 

writer Kuki Gallman was Sunday 

seriously injured after being shot 

in her conservation park in Kenya’s 

drought-stricken centre. Gallman, 

whose best-selling autobiography “I 

Dreamed of Africa” was made into 

a film with Kim Basinger playing 

Gallman, was “shot in the stomach 

during an attack” at the sprawling 

Laikipia Nature Conservancy, a 

senior police officer said. AFP

DT 

10 

Business 


CAPITAL MARKET SNAPSHOT: SUNDAY 

DSE Broad Index 5,438.2 -1.5% ▼ Index 1,262.6 -0.8% ▼ 30 Index 2,024.5 -1.3% ▼ Turnover in Mn Tk 5,062.3 -9.3% ▼ Turnover in Mn Vol 163.0 -10.6% ▼ 

CSE All Share Index 16,842.0 -1.5% ▼ 30 Index 15,085.1 -1.4% ▼ Selected Index 10,214.7 -1.5% ▼ Turnover in Mn Tk 343.2 -36.1% ▼ Turnover in Mn Vol 13.6 -23.1% ▼ 

‘A $5 shirt at source level retailed at $25’ 

• Shariful Islam 

Bangladesh economists and manufacturers 

urged the international 

buyers to deconstruct the current 

value chain of Bangladeshi apparel 

products to ensure better price. 

“The country’s garment sector operates 

in a deeply unjust global value 

chain where a $5 shirt made in Bangladesh 

is sold at $25 at Wal Mart stores 

or at much higher prices in countries 

such as Sweden,” said eminent economist 

Prof Rehman Sobhan. 

“Where exactly does the $20 go? 

Is this a natural working of the market 

mechanism or a manifestation 

of an unjust global order?,” he questioned 

while addressing a seminar 

styled as “Catalysing social dialogue 

in the RMG sector of Bangladesh” 

held at hotel in Dhaka yesterday. 

Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) 

and International Labour Organisation 

(ILO) jointly organised the 

event marking the fourth anniversary 

of Rana Plaza tragedy. 

Distinguished Fellow of CPD 

Debapriya Bhattacharya moderated 

the discussion while Secretary 

of Ministry of Labour and Employment 

(MoLE) Mikail Shipar, 

Vice-President of Bangladesh Garment 

Manufacturers and Exporters 

Association (BGMEA) Mahmud 

Hasan Khan Babu, President of 

National Garments Workers Federation 

(NGWF) Amirul Haque Amin 

and Secretary General of Bangladesh 

Trade Union Shangha (BTUS) 

Chowdhury Ashiqul Alam spoke, 

among others. 

Economists Prof Rehman Sobhan and CPD Distinguished Fellow Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya speak at a seminar marking the 

fourth anniversay of Rana Plaza tragedy in Dhaka yesterday 

RAJIB DHAR 

Rehman Sobhan said the current 

business model forces suppliers to 

squeeze their workers as much as 

they can as they would have to produce 

the shirt within $5. 

“Unless there is a major investigation 

of professional nature, political 

nature and in the end of the 

day international nature, the Oxfam 

and Action Aid, and everyone 

has to join together to deconstruct 

the value chain,” he added. 

Former President of Bangladesh 

Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters 

Association (BKMEA) Fazlul 

Haque said: “Selling a product 

by $5, we, the manufacturers have 

to give all the detail information 

how the price comes at $4.95 not 

$4.75, what is the costing of factory, 

what is the costing of labour, what 

is my profit; each and everything, 

that buyers called, ‘open costing’.” 

“I would like to request the international 

buyers only one thing: 

just mention in your products tag 

that the selling price of the product 

is $25, while the buying price was 

$3 or $4 or $5. I think, if you (buyers) 

can do this, all the problems 

will be solved regarding unjust value 

chain,” he said. 

BGMEA Vice President Mahmud 

Hasan Khan Babu said the buyers 

threatened Bangladeshi manufacturers 

to shift their sourcing in other 

competitor countries, while they 

demanded a just value chain. 

According to a study on “Prices 

and Development in the Global 

Apparel Industry: Bangladesh in 

Comparative Perspective”, prices 

of men and boys cotton trousers 

exported to the US market declined 

by 40.89% in the last 14 years. 

Mark Anner, associate professor 

at the Penn State University, conducted 

the study. • 

Denmark wants 

to help BD in 

sustainable 

production 

• Tribune Business Desk 

Danish business people want to 

contribute to Bangladesh with 

more sustainable production especially 

in the ready-made garment 

sector. 

A business delegation from Denmark 

is currently visiting Bangladesh. 

The delegation consists of 

19 leading Danish companies in 

renewable energy, energy efficiency 

and efficient water management 

sectors. 

The main focus will be the RMG 

sector in which green Danish solutions 

can add to more sustainable 

production. 

The delegation will also take 

part in the upcoming Green Growth 

Conference in Dhaka. 

“Private companies from the 

Danish energy sector can play a 

vital role in the sustainable development 

of this country. Sustainable 

solutions are demanded in the 

garment sector and we hope that 

this introduction will lead to some 

good business partnerships and 

ultimately to more sustainable production,” 

said Søren Robenhagen, 

commercial counsellor at the Danish 

Embassy in Dhaka. 

The Embassy of Denmark and 

the Danish company, Andersen 

Consult, formed the business delegation 

also known as Danida Business 

Delegation. •

NBR: Upcoming budget to be 

investment-friendly 

• Anwar Hussain, Chittagong 

NBR Chairman Md Nojibur Rahman 

has said the upcoming budget 

would be pro-people and investment-friendly. 

“The budget is going to be more 

business-friendly. This time it will 

be production-oriented as well,” 

the NBR chief said while addressing 

a pre-budget meeting with the 

Chittagong Chamber of Commerce 

and Industry (CCCI) yesterday. 

The CCCI organised the view-exchange 

meeting at Bangabandhu 

Conference Hall of World Trade 

Centre in the city. 

“We have received a number 

of directives from Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina for the upcoming 

budget. We would like to assure 

you that the forthcoming budget 

will protect local industries,” Nojibur 

said, adding that they would 

continue to give incentives to the 

export-oriented industries. 

The revenue boss noted that the 

upcoming budget would specially 

focus on generating employment 

PRAN 

confectionery 

launches 

Cricket Gum 

• Tribune Business Desk 

Cricket Gum, a new product of 

PRAN Confectionery Limited, was 

launched at a function at PRAN- 

RFL Center yesterday. 

Bangladesh cricketers Mehedi 

Hasan Miraz and Imrul Kayes unveiled 

the new product as brand 

ambassadors. 

Before the launch, the two 

young cricketers – Miraz and Kayes 

– signed agreements as brand ambassadors 

of the Cricket Gum. 

Under the agreement, the two 

cricketers will perform in different 

promotional activities of the product 

for next two years. 

Saiful Islam, Chief Operating Officer 

of PRAN Confectionery Limited, 

said: “We launched the product 

considering consumers interest 

and taste. Cricket gum, made by 

mixed fruit flavour, is now available 

in the market, in future it will 

be exported.” 

About their association with the 

brand, Miraz and Kayes said they 

are glad to get the opportunity to 

work with this brand and will try to 

take this brand forward. 

Shakhawat Ahamed, head of 

Marketing, and Sazzad Hossain, 

brand manager of PRAN Confectionery, 

were present on the occasion. 

• 

in the country. 

Referring to the new VAT law 

which is going to be effective 

from July 1, he said it would be 

much more business and investment-friendly. 

“Now we are making a list of tax 

waiver. The new VAT law will be implemented 

protecting the interest of 

general people. With the implantation 

of new law, there will be scope 

of giving incentives to different sectors,” 

said the NBR Chairman. 

“There are some flaws in the 

VAT Act 1991. The new Vat law will 

be online-based,” said Nojibur. 

Replacing the existing VAT Act 

1991, the VAT and Supplementary 

Duty Act 2012 has been framed at 

the prescription of the International 

Monetary Fund (IMF). 

The new VAT law envisages a 

flat 15% value added tax rate, replacing 

different VAT rates now in 

force for goods and services. 

While placing recommendations 

for the national budget for Fiscal 

Year 2016-17, Mahbubul Alam, on 

behalf of the CCCI, proposed to fix 

Business 11 


IMF members set aside trade split as French 

vote rattles nerves 

• Reuters, Washington 

International Monetary Fund 

members on Saturday dropped a 

pledge to fight protectionism amid 

a split over trade policy and turned 

their attention to another looming 

threat to global economic integration: 

the first round of France’s 

presidential election. 

Concerns that far-right leader 

Marine Le Pen and far-left rival 

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, both critics 

of the European Union, could top 

the field in Sunday’s vote added to 

nervousness over US trade policy 

at the IMF and World Bank spring 

meetings. 

“There was a clear recognition 

in the room that we have probably 

moved from high financial and 

economic risks to more geopolitical 

risks,” IMF Managing Director Christine 

Lagarde told a news conference. 

Lagarde, a former French finance 

minister who has warned that a Le 

Pen presidency could lead to political 

and economic upheaval, added 

that a policy shift from “growth momentum 

to more sharing and inclusive 

growth” was now needed. 

A communique from the IMF’s 

steering committee on Saturday 

dropped an anti-protectionism 

pledge, adopting language from the 

Group of 20 nations that the Trump 

administration sought last month in 

Germany as it develops a strategy to 

the Vat rate at between 7%-10%. 

Airing his grievances over the 

VAT rate at 15%, the trade body 

leader said: “The VAT rate is too 

high and it has an adverse impact 

directly on the national price level. 

The VAT rate is comparatively low 

in other countries.” 

Mahbub also called for construction 

of Bay Terminal without 

further delay to enhance the capacity 

of Chittagong Port. 

Pointing to the perennial water-logging 

problem of the port city, 

the CCCI president said the traders 

of Chaktai-Khatunganj wholesale 

market incurs astronomical losses 

every year due to water congestion. 

“Chaktai canal is considered the 

lifeline of the city as it is the main 

drainage of all rainwater of the city 

along with the usual sewage outlets,” 

said the CCCI president. 

The canal, however, has now 

become choked with solid waste 

and filth, he added, calling for an 

allocation of special fund in the upcoming 

budget to protect the century-old 

business hub. • 

slash US trade deficits. 

Earlier in the week, the IMF had 

warned that protectionist policies 

that restrict trade could choke off 

improving global growth. 

Instead, the International Monetary 

and Financial Committee 

(IMFC) statement pledged that 

members would “work together” to 

reduce global trade and current account 

imbalances “through appropriate 

policies.” 

Mexican central bank chief Agustin 

Carstens, the IMFC chairman, 

said most countries have some trade 

restrictions and that protectionism 

Grameenphone posts 65% 

growth in data revenue 

• Ishtiaq Husain 

Grameenphone Ltd has earned 

64.9% growth in data revenue 

while its voice revenue grew by 

7.1% for the first quarter of 2017. 

The operator reported a revenue of 

Tk3,060 crore, an 11.1% growth from 

the same period last year, Grameenphone 

said at a press release. 

The operator disclosed the Q1 

financial report on Sunday. 

In his statement, GP CEO Petter 

Furberg said the company passed a 

good quarter with healthy performance 

to start the year. 

“Our data as well voice revenue 

continues to grow with healthy 

momentum and this is an encouraging 

sign for us that our commitment 

towards providing superior 

network quality and simple offers 

are creating greater value for our 

valued subscribers.” 

The market leader of telecom 

business ended the quarter with 59.9 

million active subscribers, registering 

a 3.3% growth from last quarter. 

The company also acquired 0.7 

million internet users during the 

period, taking the quarter-end 

was an “ambiguous” term. 

“Instead of dwelling on what that 

concept means, we managed to put 

it in a more positive, more constructive 

framework,” Carstens told a 

news conference. 

Some officials chose to focus on 

the brightening global economy 

instead of the risks posed by the 

French election, new U.S. trade barriers 

and Britain’s decision to leave 

the European Union, said James 

Boughton, a former IMF official. 

“There’s an awful lot of forced optimism 

about what these people are 

saying,” said Boughton, who is now 

DT 

base to 25.2 million. With this, 

42.2% of total subscribers are using 

Grameenphone internet services. 

According to Dilip Pal, CFO of 

Grameenphone, the phone company 

reported healthy earnings driven 

by top-line growth and operational 

efficiency initiatives. 

“The result of this quarter is a 

testimony that securing potential 

growth along with operating efficiency 

is key to driving future profitability 

for the company.” 

Net profit after taxes for the 

quarter was Tk660 crore with 

21.4% margin compared to Tk560 

crore with 20.4% margin of the corresponding 

period of 2016. 

GP invested Tk450 crore during 

the quarter for 3G as well 2G coverage 

expansion and capacity enhancement 

of voice. 

It added 238 2G and 776 3G sites, 

taking the cumulative site numbers 

to 12,222 for 2G and 11,332 for 3G. 

With this, the company is covering 

more than 99% population 

for 2G and more than 91% for 3G. 

During the quarter, the company 

contributed to exchequer Tk1,180 

crore. • 

Finance ministers and bank governors pose for a ‘family’ photo for the International Monetary and Financial Committee 

(IMFC), as part of the IMF and World Bank’s 2017 Annual Spring Meetings, in Washing 

REUTERS 

with the Centre for International 

Governance Innovation, a Canadian 

think-tank. “Until the train goes off 

the tracks, everything looks fine.” 

US Treasury Secretary Steven 

Mnuchin called for the IMF to step 

up its surveillance of members’ foreign 

exchange rates. 

President Donald Trump “believes 

in reciprocal trade deals and 

reciprocal free trade,” Mnuchin told 

Lagarde in an on-stage interview. 

“What that means is that if our 

markets are open there should be a 

reciprocal nature to other markets 

which should be open as well.” •

DT 

12 

Editorial 


TODAY 

Remember Rana 

Plaza all year round 

Despite the appallingly large scale of 

the Rana Plaza tragedy, the factors that 

created the conditions for it have not 

gone away 

PAGE 13 

The revolutionary 

industry 

Most of us realised that our workers were 

the true partners in progress -- and we 

genuinely need to take care of our true 

partners 

PAGE 14 

We are learning from our 

mistakes 

NASHIRUL ISLAM 

Stitched in woe 

Once again, the need for union is felt. 

But while local apathy is a reason, the 

blame also goes to foreign buyers, who 

persistently pressure to get products at a 

lower rate 

PAGE 15 

Be heard 

Write to Dhaka Tribune 

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, 

Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 

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opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com 

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The views expressed in opinion 

articles are those of the authors 

alone and they are not the 

official view of Dhaka Tribune 

or its publisher. 

It has been four years since Rana Plaza collapsed, shaking the 

nation. 

But we haven’t forgotten. 

With more than 1,100 losing their lives to the incident, it 

remains one of the darkest chapters in our nation’s history. 

As terrible as the aftermath of this incident was, what is important 

is that we focus on the future. 

The success story of our RMG sector is the epitome of Bangladeshi 

resilience: It shows that we have learned from our mistakes, and that 

we are doing everything in our power to ensure that we never let 

something like Rana Plaza happen again. 

Our RMG factories have greatly improved working conditions, and 

the industry itself continues to be a competitor in the world arena. 

The fact that our denim exports have surpassed China recently 

further shows how far we have come in the four years since that 

tragic day. 

However, as far as we have come, there is still a long way to go. 

Complaints and protests regarding workers’ wages remain a thorny 

issue, but is an issue that needs to be amicably resolved nonetheless. 

As RMG remains the highest contributor to the economy, the 

government needs to ensure that safety remains a priority and 

that inspections are carried out to guarantee the well-being of the 

workers. 

Various stake-holders also need to come together to provide 

workers with the wages they truly deserve, and remain competitive 

in the global market. 

And these won’t come about unless we work together. 

If the Rana Plaza collapse has shown us anything, it is that we as a 

nation can come together, and can survive the worst catastrophes. 

With that in mind, let’s conquer the future, as we have conquered 

in the past. 

If the Rana Plaza 

collapse has shown 

us anything, it is that 

we as a nation can 

come together, and 

can survive the worst 

catastrophes

Opinion 13 

DT 


Remember Rana Plaza all year round 

People all round the world can and should do more than simply wait for April 24 

We tend to forget, but the victims and their families have to live with the aftermath every single day 

NASHIRUL ISLAM 

• Niaz Alam 

Each and every one of us 

who didn’t have a loved 

one killed or injured 

at Rana Plaza, or isn’t 

actually working every day in 

the garment sector, whether in 

Bangladesh or around the world, 

needs to do more. 

It is not good enough to wait till 

April 24 dawns to remember the 

dead. 

Families of the 1,135 people 

killed in the Rana Plaza tragedy 

on April 24, 2013, the thousands 

injured and their dependants, do 

not get to wait for the anniversary 

to be reminded of the day their 

lives were changed forever. 

The bereaved and the bereft do 

not get the luxury of choice. Why 

should we? 

We need to do more 

As citizens and consumers, people 

all round the world can and 

should do more than simply wait 

passively for April 24, because 

millions of RMG workers around 

the world, not just in Bangladesh, 

are still in need of solidarity to 

ensure their rights are upheld 

and their working conditions 

sustainably improved. 

Relying on annual words of 

remembrance is not enough. 

We need to remember Rana 

Plaza all year round to make sure 

the phrase is no longer just a 

slogan. 

Brands, buyers, factory owners, 

governments, auditors, unions, 

NGOs, BGMEA, BKMEA, and so 

on, all of them need to be kept on 

their toes. 

And the best way for this to 

happen is for more people to 

follow the issues for themselves 

and to take more action to support 

garment workers worldwide. 

Very little has changed 

Despite the appallingly large scale 

of the Rana Plaza tragedy -- and 

the correspondingly large scale of 

efforts to respond to the problems 

it highlighted -- the factors that 

created the conditions for it have 

not gone away. 

These factors have essentially 

created a paradigm in which 

globally profitable industries are 

unable or unwilling to ensure basic 

human rights and safety standards 

in their supply chains, and that 

paradigm has not changed. 

Not yet. At least for some time 

to come. 

In the meantime, four years 

after the appalling loss of life at 

Rana Plaza, the big questions 

for the RMG industry, both in 

Bangladesh and globally, remain 

much the same as this time last 

year. 

What has been learned? What 

is being done? And where are we 

going? 

As might be expected, the 

answers, too, have changed little 

from one year ago: 

• Safety is no longer an 

issue that can be ignored (but 

inspections alone are not enough 

to raise standards without finance 

to invest in improvements). 

• Compensation has been 

provided by some brands on a 

voluntary basis (but the amount of 

compensation to victims’ families 

is still pitiably small). 

• Criminal investigations are 

progressing. Slowly (but justice 

seems far away). 

• Stake-holder safety initiatives 

like Accord and Alliance have 

shown the value of co-operation 

(but without more long-term 

partnerships between buyers 

and factories, finance for 

Despite the appallingly large scale of the Rana Plaza tragedy -- and 

the correspondingly large scale of efforts to respond to the problems 

it highlighted –- the factors that created the conditions for it have 

not gone away 

improvements is still hard to come 

by). 

• Support from the Bangladesh 

government and those of other 

nations for RMG sector initiatives 

are improving (but on some issues, 

such as the tariffs imposed on 

Bangladeshi RMG exports by the 

US government, the playing field 

of the global marketplace remains 

far from fair). 

• Growing recognition of the 

value of improving workers’ 

rights by some factory owners and 

officials (but much continuing 

instinctive, legal, institutional, and 

industry association hostility to 

trade unions). 

• Bangladesh’s overall RMG 

exports are continuing to grow, 

and a growing number of more 

successful producers are investing 

in design, greening factories, and 

climbing the value chain (but 

will this be fast enough to make 

up for jobs lost elsewhere from 

competition and consolidation?). 

Let’s do our bit 

This is where we the people come 

in. 

Promoting the vision of a safe, 

sustainable, well-paid, and more 

productive garment industry 

in Bangladesh is an apt way to 

honour the memory of victims 

and show that we have learned the 

lessons from Rana Plaza. 

And plenty of industry insiders 

agree -- in principle. 

But if more customers and 

voters, in Bangladesh and around 

the world, do not demand this be 

so, it will not happen in practice. 

We must do more to keep 

the pressure up, not only on 

anniversaries, but all year round. 

And we can do that actively 

whenever we go shopping, invest 

in a business, speak to a politician, 

or write to the press. 

Do not let the dead and injured 

of Rana Plaza be victims in vain. • 

Niaz Alam is a member of the Editorial 

Board of Dhaka Tribune. A qualified 

lawyer, he has worked on corporate 

responsibility and ethical business 

issues since 1992. He sat on the Board 

of the London Pensions Fund Authority 

between 2001-2010 and is a former 

vice-chair of War on Want.

14 


DT 

Opinion 

The 

revolutionary 

industry 

The Rana Plaza collapse was a 

big blow to our economy, but we 

managed to learn a lot from it 

• Mamun Rashid 

I 

was nearly forced into the 

BGMEA advisory board by my 

friend Atiqul Islam, former 

BGMEA president, to help 

him come out of the mess that was 

the Rana Plaza collapse and other 

relevant incidents. 

It was a very challenging 

time -- morale was down, many 

small factories were taken out of 

the global supply chain, orders 

were cancelled, rights groups 

were becoming vocal against the 

Bangladesh apparel sector and so 

was the international civil society, 

academia, and development 

partners. 

Anything the BGMEA 

leadership thought of doing 

was twisted against them, be it 

individually or collectively. 

Every little concession or 

waiver from the government was 

being challenged by the media and 

part of the local civil society. There 

were surprises everywhere. 

A headless chicken 

Our BGMEA friends didn’t know 

what to do. The government and 

senior political leadership were 

out to salvage our apparel sector 

in any way possible -- perhaps the 

silver lining in this sordid affair. 

Our PMO, finance ministry, 

labour ministry, and the 

foreign ministry showed an 

unprecedented combined effort in 

tackling the situation. 

The buyers, upon pressure 

from international civil society, 

somehow echoed voice of a 

portion of our civil society; and 

the government decided to form 

Accord and Alliance to streamline 

their efforts in ensuring worker 

safety in our RMG sector. 

While the ILO put in an 

integrated effort along with the 

government. 

The sad part was that certain 

elements within the BGMEA 

leadership were still feeling rather 

restrictive, and even aggressive to 

some extent. 

They were averse to any 

criticism or media reports, even if 

it was genuinely constructive. We 

had long sessions with them and 

Atiqul Islam. 

We forced them to bite a few 

bullets -- build bridges with media 

community, the civil society, the 

international media, and business 

school professors, and, more 

importantly, hold regular dialogue 

with workers and their leaders. 

Most of us realised 

that our workers 

were the true 

partners in progress 

-- and we genuinely 

need to take care of 

our true partners 

Damage control 

That was the time we recruited 

a few serving journalists to join 

the BGMEA, strengthened their 

research wing, got in touch with 

leading academia at Harvard 

Business School and Stern School 

of Business, changed the BGMEA 

directory to “apparel story” to 

accommodate more opinions from 

the factory floors and other stakeholders. 

In the same way, BATEXPO 

became the “Bangladesh Apparel 

Summit.” 

With extensive help from 

ILO, the EU, and other global 

stake-holders, we were able to 

put up Centre of Excellence for 

Bangladesh Apparel Industry. 

The market could see a lot of 

synergy taking place between 

broader stake-holders. 

It wasn’t all about scrubbing 

The cornerstone of our country 

off the bad image and reputation 

that our RMG industry had donned 

after Rana Plaza; we also worked 

very closely with National Board of 

Revenue and Bangladesh Bank to 

reevaluate the apparel industry’s 

tariff structure, especially to save 

the small ones from the brink of 

collapse, increase the size of the 

export development fund (EDF), 

and increase the entity/single 

party limit under EDF. 

We initiated dialogue with the 

Japanese embassy and JICA to 

explore the possibilities of putting 

up a financing package in order 

to retrofit and relocate the small 

factories. 

We held several discussions 

with regard to putting up an 

integrated financing package for 

establishing the “garments polli” 

at Bausia, Munshiganj. 

The true partners 

We weren’t quite as successful 

as we’d hoped we’d be, since a 

befittingly large financing package 

at an affordable rate could not be 

arranged commercially. 

A few Chinese companies did 

show interest, one even signed an 

MoU. I am not aware of the latest 

development. 

One thing we understood 

was that the Bangladesh apparel 

industry has reached the “too big 

to fail” stage, due to its size and 

product diversity. 

Most of us realised that our 

workers were the true partners in 

progress -- and we genuinely need 

to take care of our true partners. 

We kept on talking about 

“productivity improvement,” 

but not much could be done 

as it required heavy financial 

commitment. 

While few of our apparel 

producers reached an enviable 

stage -- be it green factory 

environment, workers health 

and safety, building technology 

solutions, or the business reengineering 

process -- many 

others lagged behind. 

It’s important to note how most 

of our producers realised that the 

RAJIB DHAR 

government can’t do much apart 

from using police force to pacify 

mobs or workers. 

We need to solve our own 

problems in managing workers, 

through the adoption of better 

technology to increase production, 

avoiding any surprises by 

putting up improved fire-safety 

equipment, and ensuring worker 

training and efficient financing 

package. 

We are now talking to the 

media, the US state department, 

the EU, and other development 

partners much more openly than 

in the past. 

We are ready to take criticism 

into account, go the extra mile to 

build friendships, and constantly 

research new avenues for growth. 

Thanks to Atiq and his BGMEA 

team for rising to the occasion and 

making a commitment to learning 

from mistakes. • 

Mamun Rashid is a leading economic 

analyst and former advisory board 

member, BGMEA.

Stitched in woe 

Opinion 15 

DT 


With all the talk about its impact on the economy, there are few discussions on how Rana Plaza 

affected the survivors 

SERPENT 

IN EDEN 

• Towheed Feroze 

In 2014, a year after the deadly 

Rana Plaza incident, a news 

bit caught my eye: Unable to 

bear her excruciating pain, 

Salma, a young survivor of the 

building collapse, committed 

suicide. 

The news only gave the basic 

facts with quotes from her 

husband whose rather clinical 

reply seemed to say that he was 

not shocked. 

Don’t blame him, in a vicious 

social segment, where all of life’s 

emotions and dynamics revolve 

around the earning of enough 

money to carry on living, patience 

to tolerate any form of financial 

strain is thin. 

For a survivor who was out of 

work and had no money to pay for 

better treatment, ending life which 

was saved just over a year ago, was 

the only option. 

That story not only jolted me 

but opened many alleys for deeper 

introspection. How much was 

needed to reduce her pain and 

make her want to look forward to 

life with renewed hope? 

Alas, for people like Salma, the 

top brass does not authorise best 

medical care or treatment abroad. 

Was there any psychological 

treatment meted out for the 

traumatised survivors? 

For many recalling the tragedy 

of 2013, the vivid images are of 

the incident itself and of those 

unfortunate people who died 

horrific deaths -- their bodies, 

discovered during removal of 

rubble, unknowingly becoming 

the clicked-on images of human 

bondage when death came calling. 

But I wanted to look at all 

those who survived, and are still 

suffering. 

For Salma, it was a survival of 

relentless suffering. 

She took her own life; the 

reports state that but the long tale 

of unending distress and sleepless 

nights are not recorded. 

Others may not have taken such 

an extreme action, but, reportedly, 

many living with wounds from the 

accident have had their everyday 

lives curtailed. 

Are we doing enough? 

It’s been four years since the 

disaster, these are the people 

Some lost more than a job 

Once again, the need for union is felt. But while local apathy is a reason, 

the blame also goes to foreign buyers, who persistently pressure to get 

products at a lower rate 

that society needs to seek out 

and ascertain if avoiding death at 

a price had given them a better 

existence. 

For the textile sector in general, 

the accident has paved the way 

for more effort to ensure better 

working conditions and, in the 

last four years, many factories 

have ramped up their security 

measures, holding fire and safety 

drills at regular intervals. 

RMG remediation fund support 

local textile factories to improve 

structure and fire safety, adding 

a much-needed sense of security 

among workers. 

Anjuman, a thread cutter in 

the sprawling garment factory 

belonging to the Debonair Group, 

says that work environment has 

become markedly safer in the last 

year. 

The massive red door, which 

looked too heavy and cumbersome 

to her and her fellow workers 

when they were first fitted, now 

add to her sense of security. 

“Seeing the doors for the first 

time, I was a little intimidated, but 

now we all know how to use them 

and understand that, in case of an 

accident, these (doors) will help 

us remain safe,” says the 20-yearold 

who has also been a witness to 

a series of other security related 

changes within the large factory, 

housing a staggering 4,000 

workers. 

Debonair is one of the textile 

companies that carried out safety 

remediation after taking a loan 

from City Bank, which received 

$10 million from International 

Finance Corporation (IFC) as 

remediation fund to disburse 

among factory owners wanting to 

ramp up safety. 

But, the overall situation in the 

garment sector remains turbulent. 

If there is satisfaction 

among workers in the larger 

factories, there is also marked 

disenchantment among those who 

work in smaller ones. 

A few weeks ago, textile 

workers in Ashulia clashed 

with police over reported 

disgruntlement relating to pay and 

other promised facilities. 

A day to remember every day 

The Rana Plaza tragedy should 

always be remembered, but let’s 

just not turn this into a one-day 

memorial to be shoved aside the 

next. 

While the campaign for better 

safety is underway, other issues 

continue to plague the sector and 

the most fractious one relates to 

minimum wage. 

In this context, discord is 

regular, with clashes breaking out 

often, resulting in a lingering sense 

of ill will between garment factory 

owners and the staff. 

Once again, the need for union 

is felt. 

But while local apathy is a 

reason, the blame also goes to 

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN 

foreign buyers, who persistently 

pressure to get products at a lower 

rate. 

These buyers, who want to get 

the cheapest rate and sell them 

at the highest, cannot evade 

responsibility. 

A way out 

A long-term solution for worker 

unrest can be reached, once more 

special economic zones with 

clearly laid-out rules about wages 

and safety are in operation. 

Taking issues ranging from 

safety to wages to worker 

insurance require a relatively 

comprehensive approach. 

Approaching just a few factories 

at a time will prove to be timeconsuming 

and ineffective. 

Special Economic Zones 

(SEZs) are the answers and the 

government must act promptly. 

Coming back to Salma’s suicide, 

I am certain that there are many 

others who, with severe injuries, 

continue to face untold hardship. 

On this day, let us also find 

those survivors and try to 

understand the physical and 

psychological damage that they 

are trying to negotiate with every 

moment. • 

Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently 

working in the development sector.

16 


DT 

Downtime 

CROSSWORD 

CODE-CRACKER 

ACROSS 

1 Slender support (4) 

5 Pretend (4) 

10 Flower (4) 

11 Greek letter (3) 

12 Saturn’s largest 

satellite (5) 

13 Decay (3) 

14 Colour (5) 

16 Threefold (6) 

18 Show clearly (6) 

21 American elk (5) 

23 Fish (3) 

24 Proportion (5) 

26 Consumed (3) 

27 Climbing plant (4) 

28 Examine (4) 

29 Whirlpool (4) 

DOWN 

2 Tenth part (5) 

3 Period of time (3) 

4 Becomes united (7) 

6 Hither (4) 

7 Unaccented (6) 

8 Floor covering (3) 

9 Let it stand (4) 

15 Daydream (7) 

17 Far apart (6) 

19 Famous (5) 

20 Love god (4) 

22 Lyric poems (4) 

23 Domestic animal (3) 

25 Also (3) 

How to solve: Each number in our 

CODE-CRACKER grid represents a 

different letter of the alphabet. For 

example, today 11 represents G so fill G 

every time the figure 11 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 


DT 

EVENTS AROUND TOWN TODAY 

THEATRE 

MOVIE 

WORKSHOP 

STAR CINEPLEX 

Where Bashundhara City, Dhaka 

What Movie showtime (April 24) 

SHIKHONDI KOTHA 

When 7-8:30pm 

Where Experimental Theatre, Bangladesh Shilpakala 

Academy, Segun Bagicha Road, Dhaka 

What A play by Mohakal Natya Shomproday troupe. 

VIDEO EDITING AND GRAPHICS ANIMATION WORKSHOP 


When 2:45-5:30pm 

Where MIST, Mirpur Cantonment, Dhaka 

What Three days workshop. Registratin required. For more 

information: 01677172038 

MERAJ FOKIRER MA 

When 7-9pm 

Where National Theatre Hall, Bangladesh Shilpakala 

Academy, Shegun Bagicha, Dhaka 

What A play by the Dhaka Theatre troupe. 

MUSIC 

MONDAY NIGHT JAM SESSION: PART 4 

When 8-11pm 

Where Cuppa Coffee Lounge, Gulshan 2 Circle, Dhaka 

What Jam Session by the house band and open mic. Entry 

fees Tk300 that include one free drink. 

EDUCATION 

Dhat Teri Ki (2D): 4:20pm, 7:20pm 

Ghost in the Shell (3D): 12:50pm, 

7:30pm 

Incarnate (2D): 10:50am, 3:10pm, 

5:15pm 

Swatta (2D): 4:10pm, 7:10pm 

Fast & Furious 8 (3D): 10:50am, 

1:40pm, 4:30pm, 7:20pm 

Fast & Furious 8 (2D): 10:50am, 

1:30pm, 4pm, 7pm 

Lion (2D): 11:10am, 1:40pm, 

4:20pm, 6:50pm 

The Boss Baby (3D): 11:20am, 

1:45pm 

Beauty and the Beast (3D): 11am, 

1:50pm, 4:30pm, 7:10pm 

BLOCKBUSTER CINEMAS 

Where Jamuna Future Park, Dhaka 

What Movie showtime (April 24) 

2-DAY TOEFL WORKSHOP 

When 5-8pm 

Where EMK Center, Midas Center Building (9th Floor), House 

5, Road 16 (old 27), Dhanmondi, Dhaka 

What Free TOEFL class and group discussion hosted by the 

EMK Center. 

EXHIBITION 

THREADS OF CHANGE: CELEBRATING THE LIVES OF 

GARMENTS WORKERS 

When 4-8pm 

Where Bengal Art Lounge, Gulshan 1, Dhaka 

What An exhibition showcasing photographs by the 

internationally acclaimed photographer Alison Wright, 

reflecting the lives of workers from the apparel industry. 

Organised by Fashion Revolution Bangladesh and Snv 

Netherlands Development Organization. 

ACTIVITY-A: UNDERGRADUATE BASIC GROUP ADVISING 

When 3-4pm 

Where EducationUSA Bangladesh, J Block, Progoti Sharoni, 

Baridhara, Dhaka 

What Free group advising session on basic information about 

studying in undergraduate or bachelor’s programs in the US 

Registration Valid photo ID is required. 

SBSC NATIONAL ASTRO_OLYMPIAD 2017 

When 5-6pm 

Where EME Building, BUET, Dhaka 

What Olympiad to increase public interest in astronomy and 

astrophysics as a part of Prof Jamal Nazrul Islam Cosmo- 

Carnival: 2017. 

Rings (2D): 2:50pm 

La La Land (2D): 4:50pm 

The Shack (2D): 12:10pm, 7:35pm 

Swatta (2D): 1pm, 4pm, 7pm 

Haripada Bandwala (2D): 12:30pm, 

3:30pm, 6:30pm 

Power Rangers (2D): 11:40am, 

2:15pm, 5pm, 7:30pm 

Fast and Furious 8 (3D): 11:30am, 

11:35am, 2:15pm, 2:20pm, 5pm, 

5:05pm, 7:45pm, 7:50pm 

PROXIMITY OF LINE 

When 3-8pm 

Where Shilpangan, Dhanmondi, Dhaka 

What A solo art exhibition by Rahul Karim Rumee.

DT 

18 

Sports 


Big guns win in 

Independence 

Cup Kabaddi 

• Tribune Report 

Border Guard Bangladesh, Bangladesh 

Navy, Bangladesh Army, 

Bangladesh Police and Bangladesh 

Jail began their Independence Cup 

Kabaddi 2017 campaign with wins 

in their respective matches at Shaheed 

Suhrawardi Indoor Stadium 

in Mirpur yesterday. 

BGB defeated Bangladesh Fire 

Service by 50-16 points in the tournament 

opener while Bangladesh 

Navy outplayed Bangladesh Jail 

36-19, Bangladesh Army thrashed 

Moulvibazar district 69-26, Bangladesh 

Jail beat Barisal district 49-13 

while Bangladesh Police outclassed 

Dinajpur 44-22. 

Earlier, Bangladesh Kabaddi 

Federation president and IG of 

Bangladesh Police, AKM Shahidul 

Haque inaugurated the event as 

the chief guest. This is the first 

time a kabaddi tournament has 

been broadcast live on youtube. 

The tournament is sponsored by 

Bashundhara Group. 

The five-day long event features 

10 teams divided into two 

groups. The group stage matches 

will be held until tomorrow. The 

two semi-finals will take place 

on Wednesday while the final is 

scheduled for a day later. • 

U-16 girls stage brilliant comeback 


Bangladesh U-16 women's 

football team staged a brilliant 

Action from a match in the 2017 Independence Cup Kabaddi in Dhaka yesterday 

comeback in their week-long 

China tour as they outplayed 

Shaanxi U-15 side 4-1 in their 

second match in Xi’an, China 

yesterday. 

The girls in red and green, 

who conceded a narrow 

1-0 defeat against China U-14 

Action from the friendly between Bangladesh U-16 women’s team and Shaanxi U-15 side in China yesterday 

BFF 

team in their first match on 

Saturday, kept the opponent 

at bay from the very beginning, 

and dominated the entire 

game. 

Marzia gave the visiting side 

the lead with only eight minutes 

into the clock. Right winger 

Razia squandered a great 

chance a minute later as the 

first part of three halves ended 

1-0. 

Tohura doubled the lead in 

the 32nd minute, hitting the 

back of the net following a Krishna 

pass. In-form striker Shopna 

increased the lead minutes 

later, netting home a pass from 

forward Sanjida. 

The Chinese girls tried to 

put up some resistance in the 

third half by pulling one back 

in the 84th minute through 

Lou Xiemei. 

Bangladesh took only four 

minutes to respond as Sultana 

netted their fourth goal two 

minutes before the end of stipulated 

time, firing home following 

a Monika pass. 

Bangladesh will face China 

U-14 in their third match at the 

same place today afternoon. • 

MD MANIK 

Spectacular Siddikur 

finishes ninth in Japan 


Bangladesh golfing star Siddikur Rahman put up a 

spectacular display in the fourth and final round to 

finish jointly at ninth place in the Panasonic Open 

Japan at Chiba Country Club, Umesato Course yesterday. 

Siddikur carded a superb six-under-par 65 in the 

fourth round, which allowed him to climb to ninth 

from his previous position of 37th. The 32-year old 

Bangladesh golfer hit a total of seven birdies in the 

final day; which are more than he struck in the first 

three rounds combined. Siddikur aggregated a total 

of eight-under-par 276 after 72, 70 and 69 in the first 

three rounds respectively. 

“I really enjoyed all four days here in Japan. I 

holed many long putts [yesterday] which helped 

me to finish really strongly. Also, I played without 

any pressure [yesterday] and that helped too. The 

only pressure I felt this week was on Friday where 

I was trying to make the cut. After that, I started 

to enjoy myself on the golf course and I’m happy I 

managed to end the week with a top-10 finish,” Siddikur 

was quoted as saying in the official website of 

the Asian Tour. 

He added, “Performances like [yesterday] are the 

kind which I draw a lot of confidence from. I finished 

second in Bangladesh and with another top-10 result 

this week, it’ll help with my world ranking too. I’m 

headed to Taiwan with lots of self belief now.” 

Siddikur earned US$34,652 out of a total of 

$1.37m. •

Sports 19 

DT 


Poch proud as 

Tottenham fall 

short again 

• Reuters 

Tottenham Hotspur have made 

huge strides since losing the 2015 

League Cup final to Chelsea but 

another Wembley loss to their London 

rival on Saturday proved they 

are still not the finished article. 

Pochettino must pick his team 

up quickly, however, and he said 

he rejected the notion that Spurs 

are becoming the nearly men of 

English football. 

"It's my first semi-final in the 

Cup I can't change the past," he told 

reporters when reminded of Tottenham's 

poor record in semi-finals. 

"The past is the past. We need to 

build the present to have a better 

future. If you are a Spurs supporter 

you feel very disappointed. But 

I think the fans know the project. 

"I feel proud because to fight in 

that level against Chelsea is fantastic. 

Two years ago it was difficult to 

arrive in the level. Now it's a reality. 

Now we have to be clever and build 

the team for the next years." • 

Dhaka begin 

with win in U-18 

Nat'l Football 


The U-18 National Football Championship 

2017 kicked off at Bangabandhu 

National Stadium yesterday 

with Dhaka registering a 1-0 win 

over Rajshahi in the opening day of 

the tournament. Emon scored the 

all-important goal from the penalty 

spot in the 83rd minute. 

In the tournament opener, BKSP 

and Rangpur played out a 1-1 draw. 

Fuad put Rangpur ahead in the 

72nd minute, courtesy a spot-kick, 

before Kabir equalised in the 85th 

minute. • 

Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez nets the all-important goal during their FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley yesterday 

Sanchez leads Gunners into FA Cup final 

• AFP, London 

Alexis Sanchez earned Arsenal 

an FA Cup final showdown with 

Chelsea and gave Arsene Wenger 

renewed hope of salvaging a troubled 

campaign as the gritty Gunners 

fought back to beat Manchester 

City 2-1 yesterday. 

When Sergio Aguero put City 

ahead in the second half of a bruising 

semi-final, Wenger’s side were 

on the verge of another dispiriting 

defeat in arguably the worst season 

of the Frenchman’s 21-year reign. 

But, despite being out-played for 

long periods, Arsenal summoned a 

spirit and desire too often missing 

from their performances this term. 

Nacho Monreal’s equaliser 

forced extra-time and Sanchez’s 

predatory finish in the additional 

period secured a final date with Premier 

League leader Chelsea back at 

Wembley on May 27. 

Arsenal’s third FA Cup final in 

the last four years - they won it in 

2014 and 2015 - gives them a record 

20 appearances in the showpiece 

match of the famous old competition. 

Crucially, it presents Wenger 

with a chance to mute the mounting 

criticism from his club’s supporters 

who want him to resign. 

The Gunners’ failure to challenge 

for the Premier League title has 

been compounded by their slide out 

of the top four. 

But those close to Wenger believe 

he is still leaning towards staying. 

With fourth placed City well 

adrift of leader Chelsea, boss Pep 

Guardiola is destined to finish his 

first season empty-handed. 

He now faces the difficult task 

of lifting his players before a vital 

derby against Manchester United 

as the top four battles heats up on 

Thursday. 

City came close to striking first 

when the diminutive David Silva 

rose to meet Aguero’s cross with a 

header that Petr Cech pushed over. 

REUTERS 

Silva departed due to injury 

soon after, but City monopolised 

possession and Arsenal were often 

reduced to kicking their opponents 

out of their rhythm. 

Aguero and Raheem Sterling 

combined to bundle the ball into 

the net just before half-time, but 

the goal was controversially ruled 

out because Leroy Sane’s cross was 

adjudged to have gone out as it 

looped over the bar before curling 

back into play. 

To City’s frustration, television 

replays suggested a tiny part of 

the ball was still in play before it 

reached Aguero. 

Yet Arsenal’s play still lacked 

conviction and by the 62nd minute 

the scoreline finally reflected City’s 

dominance. 

When Yaya Toure seized the ball 

after Aaron Ramsey’s mistake deep 

in City’s half, the Ivorian spotted 

Aguero and sent a long pass towards 

the striker. 

Aguero surged away from Monreal 

and, although his first touch 

almost ruined the chance, he recovered 

to lift a deft finish over Cech for 

his 30th goal this season. 

If that felt like the knockout 

blow, Monreal had other ideas and 

he hauled the Gunners off the canvas 

in the 71st minute. 

Having laboured for so long, Arsenal 

suddenly sprang to life and 

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain swung 

over a superb cross to the far post, 

where Monreal timed his run perfectly 

to slot home from close-range 

for his first Arsenal goal in over two 

years. 

City almost hit back immediately, 

with Toure’s 25-yard volley pushed 

onto a post by Cech before Fernandinho 

headed against the crossbar 

from Kevin de Bruyne’s corner. 

Danny Welbeck couldn’t win 

it for Arsenal with a fine curling 

strike before extra-time, but 

Sanchez came to Wenger’s rescue 

with a far more prosaic effort in the 

101st minute. • 

Bulbuli wins silver 

in Thailand Open 

Karate 2017 


Bangladesh’s Senwara Akter Bulbuli 

claimed silver medal in the second day of 

the Thailand Open Karate Do Championship 

2017 in Bangkok yesterday. Bulbuli 

was placed second in the minus 68kg 

weight category event while Thailand 

clinched gold and Nepal took home bronze. 

A total of 18 countries are taking part in 

the three-day long tournament where eight 

Bangladeshis are participating, including 

four male and as many female players. Out 

of eight, seven are from Bangladesh Army 

while the rest is from Border Guard Bangladesh. 

• 

Manchester United’s Ander Herrera vies against Burnley’s Joey Barton 

during their Premier League match at Turf Moor yesterday. United won 

2-0, thanks to goals from Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney REUTERS 

DPL fixture changed again 


The Dhaka Premier Division Cricket 

League 2016-17 season saw its 

fixture changed for the second 

time in as many days. 

On Saturday, the Cricket Committee 

of Dhaka Metropolis declared 

changes in the itinerary for 

round four, five and six due to overcast 

weather in the capital city. Before 

a day could pass, CCDM made 

more changes to the fixture, yesterday, 

with no signs of improvement 

in the weather. 

The round four matches of the 

competition will now be held on 

Wednesday and Thursday. The 

round five games will be played on 

Saturday and Sunday. The round six 

matches will be held on May 2 and 3. 

The new changes in fixture 

due to unavoidable circumstances 

mean only the teams playing 

in round four on Wednesday will 

get the last possible service from 

the national cricketers before they 

leave for the UK. The 18-member 

Bangladesh squad will leave for a 

10-day long conditional camp in 

Sussex on Wednesday night. 

Abahani Limited, Sheikh Jamal 

Dhanmondi Club Limited, Prime 

Doleshwar Sporting Club, Gazi 

Group Cricketers, Legends of Rupganj 

and Kalabagan Krira Chakra 

are the six teams scheduled to play 

on Wednesday. •

20 


DT 

Sports 

Inter's Europa 

hope dented 

in nine-goal 

thriller 

• AFP 

Mauro Icardi hit a dramatic late 

brace to complete his hat-trick but 

Inter Milan's Europa League hopes 

were dented in a dramatic ninegoal 

thriller that saw Fiorentina 

prevail 5-4 in Florence on Saturday. 

Inter travelled to the Artemio 

Franchi already six points behind 

Lazio, who occupy fifth position 

in Serie A and the league's second 

Europa League qualifying position, 

and desperate for their first win in 

five league outings. But despite responding 

to Matias Vecino's 23rd 

minute opener with goals from Ivan 

Perisic and captain Icardi by the 

34th minute, Stefano Pioli's men 

suffered a dramatic collapse in the 

space of 17 second-half minutes that 

saw them concede a penalty and 

concede three goals before launching 

a futile, last-gasp revival. 

Inter's third defeat in five-game 

winless run leaves them in seventh 

place but, less than a year after their 

takeover by the Chinese Suning 

group, their hopes of qualifying for 

Europe's second tier competition 

are now decidedly compromised. 

Inter host Napoli, in third and 

determined to battle for a top-two 

finish, next week and Pioli told Sky 

Sport: "There's no justification for 

our performance. We had an unexplainable 

blackout. • 

Matador Cavani sends PSG top 

• AFP 

RESULTS 

Atalanta 3-2 Bologna 

Conti 3, Freuler 14, Destro 16, 

Caldara 75 Di Francesco 61 

Fiorentina 5-4 Inter Milan 

Vecino 23, 64, Astori 63, Perisic 29, Icardi 34, 

Babacar 70, 79 88, 90+2 

A goal apiece from Edinson Cavani 

and Angel di Maria gave Paris 

Saint-Germain a 2-0 win over 

Montpellier to send the champions 

top of Ligue 1 for the first time this 

season on Saturday. 

PSG now have 80 points from 34 

games to top Ligue 1 provisionally 

while second placed Monaco,. 

In hommage to the Parisian policeman 

murdered on the Champs 

Elysees in a terror attack on Thursday, 

two policemen symbolically 

took the kick off, while the players 

all wore black armbands in mourning. 

Given the reverse fixture was 

a resounding 3-0 win for Montpellier 

the star-studded Parisian outfit 

needed to be on their guard and occasionally 

rode their luck. 

But Unai Emery's charges have 

Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann scores the winning goal during their Spanish La Liga Santander match against Espanyol at RCDE Stadium on Saturday 

Griezmann Atletico's match winner once more 

• AFP 

Antoine Griezmann was Atletico 

Madrid's hero once more as he 

struck 17 minutes from time to 

snatch a 1-0 win away to Espanyol 

on Saturday. 

Atletico were outplayed for 

large spells and were also thankful 

to goalkeeper Jan Oblak as he made 

a brilliant save to deny Leo Baptistao 

salvaging a point for Espanyol. 

Victory restores Atletico's threepoint 

lead over Sevilla in the fight 

for third place behind Real Madrid 

and Barcelona, who faced off yesterday. 

Atletico boss Diego Simeone 

made just one change from the side 

that booked their place in a third 

now steamrollered to eight straight 

wins since their humiliating 

Champions League meltdown in 

Barcelona. • 

RESULTS 

PSG 2-0 Montpellier 

Cavani 29, Di Maria 48 

Lorient 5-1 Metz 

Ciani 13, Waris 49, Diabite 32-P 

Cabot 60, 66, 

Moukandjo 78 

Dijon 3-2 Angers 

Diony 5, 43, 

Mangani 68-P, 

Melou 17 Ekambi 69 

Caen 0-2 Nantes 

Bammou 27, 35 

Bordeaux 2-0 Bastia 

Malcom 55, Sankhare 69 

Lille 3-0 Guingamp 

Preville 10, 35-P, Eder 66 

Champions League semi-final in 

four years against Leicester. 

And their midweek exertions 

appeared to take their toll as neither 

side threatened before the 

break. 

However, the introduction of 

Kevin Gameiro alongside Griezmann 

gave Atletico an added dimension 

for the final 25 minutes. 

However, the former Real Madrid 

stopper could have done 

better when Griezmann volleyed 

home his 25th goal of the season 

after latching onto Niguez's deflected 

shot. Baptistao should have 

levelled seconds later when he 

bore down on goal, but Oblak made 

himself big to register his eighth 

clean sheet in 11 games. 

Paris St Germain’s Edinson Cavani 

celebrates after scoring against 

Montpellier during their French Ligue 

1 match at Parc des Princes in Paris on 

Saturday 

REUTERS 

Malaga 2-0 Valencia 

Recio 36, Sandro Ramirez 40 

Villarreal 2-1 Leganes 

Bakambu 68, 90+1 Guerrero 90 

Osasuna 2-2 Sporting Gijon 

Mere 18-og, Kodro 71 Canella 79, Castro 81 

Espanyol 0-1 Atletico Madrid 

Griezmann 73 

Earlier, Villarreal moved back to 

within eight points of the top four 

in hugely controversial fashion as 

Cedric Bakambu punched home 

a stoppage time winner to cruelly 

deny Leganes. Bakambu had put 

Villarreal in front before Miguel 

Angel Guerrero looked to have salvaged 

a vital point in Leganes' battle 

to avoid the drop. 

However, Bakambu struck again 

seconds later and the goal was allowed 

to stand despite the Congolese 

striker having clearly used to 

hand to turn home Jonathan dos 

Santos's cross. 

Leganes were, though, handed 

a let-off as Osasuna and Sporting 

Gijon drew 2-2 which does little to 

aid either side's chances of beating 

the drop. Sporting are now four 

points adrift of Leganes in 18th 

with Osasuna five points worse off 

at the bottom of the table. 

Recio and Sandro Ramirez were 

on target as Malaga secured their 

place in La Liga for next season 

with a 2-0 win over Valencia. • 

Ibra suffers 'significant 

knee ligament damage' 

• AFP 

RESULTS 

REUTERS 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's magical 

season with Manchester United 

appears over after the club announced 

he had suffered a serious 

knee injury in Thursday's Europa 

League clash with Anderlecht. 

The club revealed that both the 

35-year-old Swedish striker and Argentinian 

defender Marcos Rojo had 

suffered knee injuries in the same 

match. "Detailed investigations on 

the injuries sustained by Marcos 

Rojo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic during 

Thursday's Europa League match 

have confirmed significant knee ligament 

damage in both players that 

requires specialist opinions over the 

coming days," read the United statement 

on their website. 

"Estimations of time to full recovery 

will only be possible once definitive 

treatment plans have been 

decided after these consultations." 

Ibrahimovic didn't have his 

finest game against Anderlecht - 

Marcus Rashford edging United 

through to the semi-finals on aggregate 

after extra-time - but his 

goals this season have been the 

main reason for an improvement in 

the club's fortunes, albeit without 

ever being title challengers. 

Ibrahimovic has defied many 

doubters since joining on a free 

transfer from Paris Saint-Germain 

last year, scoring 28 goals and inspiring 

United to victory in the 

League Cup. •

Sports 

21 


DT 

FOOTBALL 

TEN 1 

12:40AM 

Italian Serie A 

Pescara v Roma 

TEN 2 

9:00PM 

UEFA Youth League: Final 

12:40AM 

Spanish La Liga 

DAY’S WATCH 

Eibar v Athletic Bilbao 

CRICKET 

TEN 3 

8:30PM 

Pakistan Tour of West Indies 

1st Test, Day 4 

SONY SIX 

8:30PM 

Indian Premier League 

Mumbai v Pune 

Britain’s Johanna Konta cries while leaving the tennis court during their Fed Cup Group II play-off against 

Romania in Constanta county, Romania on Saturday 

REUTERS 

Abusive Nastase banned as 

Fed Cup boils over 

• AFP 

Romanian tennis legend Ilie 

Nastase was sensationally 

kicked out of the Fed Cup 

on Saturday after a foulmouthed 

rant compounded 

his controversial racial slur 

over Serena Williams's unborn 

baby. 

The 70-year-old captain of 

Romania's Fed Cup team was 

escorted from the Constanta 

venue where a World Group 

play-off was taking place 

against Britain after swearing 

at the umpire, the British skipper 

and a visiting player who 

was even reduced to tears. 

He was heard to call 

pregnant captain Anne Keothavong 

and national number 

one Johanna Konta "fucking 

bitches". 

The day before, Nastase, 

a former world number one 

and two-time Grand Slam 

title winner, was overheard 

making derogatory remarks 

about US superstar Serena 

Williams's pregnancy. 

"Let's see what colour it 

(the baby) has. Chocolate 

with milk?," he said in Romanian, 

remarks then reported 

widely internationally, including 

by a British female 

reporter who he then berated, 

describing her as "stupid" 

and "ugly". 

The International Tennis 

Federation said Nastase had 

been expelled from the tie 

against Britain for "serious 

misconduct" and hinted at 

further punishment. 

After his slur against Williams, 

who will give birth in 

September, Nastase was still 

raging on Saturday. 

He was warned twice by 

the umpire for unsportsmanlike 

conduct as Konta 

took on Sorana Cirstea in the 

day's second rubber. Nastase 

screamed at the umpire: "It's 

not the opera, what's your 

fucking problem?" 

Konta broke down in 

tears after the abuse and the 

match was held up for 25 

minutes before Nastase was 

banished to the stands and 

then escorted out of the venue 

by burly security guards. 

"His accreditation was removed 

and he will play no 

further part in the tie," said 

the ITF in a statement. • 

Amir gets five-wicket haul 

against West Indies 

• Reuters 

Pakistan left-arm paceman 

Mohammad Amir claimed 

his first five-wicket haul 

since returning from a fiveyear 

ban on a rain-shortened 

second day of the first Test 

against West Indies in Kingston, 

Jamaica on Saturday. 

Only 11.3 overs were 

bowled, with the home team 

advancing to 278 for nine 

wickets at a soggy Sabina 

Park. 

Amir claimed the two 

wickets to fall, dismissing 

tail-enders Devendra Bishoo 

for 28 and Alzarri Joseph for 

a duck while captain Jason 

Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir unsuccessfully appeals for LBW on day 

two of the first Test against the West Indies at Sabina Park 

AFP 

Holder remained unbeaten 

on 55 at stumps. 

Amir (5-41) returned to 

the Pakistan test team last 

year after serving a five-year 

ban for spot-fixing. •

22 


DT 

Showtime 

'We used to borrow handycams 

to film' 

An interview with award winning TV play writer 

Sarower Reza Jimi 

• Nasir Rayhan 

Sarower Reza Jimi won Meril- 

Prothom Alo Critics Choice Awards 

2017 for the best play writer. He 

was awarded the prize for his TV 

drama Jog Biyog. 

The talented young filmmaker 

and play writer sat down 

with Dhaka Tribune on April 

18, 3 days before winning the 

award last Friday, to talk about 

his nomination for the award, his 

passion for films and his upcoming 

project, among other things. 

How did you start in the TV and 

film media? 

I’ve never thought of being in 

the TV and film media, until my 

engagement with Dhaka University 

Film Society (DUFS). Besides, 

when I was a student of Notre 

Dame College, I got involved 

with a film screening initiative of 

Bishwa Shahitto Kendro named 

‘Cholochitro Chakra’. A total of 

150 classic films from around 

the world were shown under the 

project. When you come to watch 

films of this stature, you can hardly 

resist yourself from the thought of 

making films. I was hooked after 

my experience of watching all 

those films and then I got involved 

in DUFS in the year 2003. It was 

around that time I started to think 

that maybe I can create something 

as well. 

When did that thought actually 

materialised? 

Although DUFS does not really 

encourage film making as much 

as it encourages learning to 

appreciate films by watching. But 

some of us from the organisation 

started to make short-length 

student films with handy-cams. 

DSLRs were not as readily 

available as they are today, even 

SLR cameras were hard to find. 

We used to borrow handy-cams 

from our friends and make the 

films. In the process of making 

these films I got myself a little 

involved in writing as well. It 

was around 2006, when one of 

my short films got selected in the 

Children’s Film Festival. Then 

Jalaler Golpo director Abu Shahed 

Emon bhai invited me to work 

with him for the film. Mainly, I 

worked as the script supervisor of 

the film. But I directed the behind 

the scene documentary of the 

film along with doing some other 

minor works for the film. This 

was my first official involvement 

with film making. 

So, could you talk 

about Jog Biyog for 

which you have been 

nominated? Do you think 

you could win? 

I penned the drama based on the 

Liberation War. At the beginning, 

the TV authority told us that Jog 

Biyog will be aired on March 25, 

as the slot for the Independence 

Day was booked for another drama 

made by a well-known director. 

But after the submission of our 

final product they changed the 

schedule and ran Jog Biyog on the 

Independence Day. 

Interestingly, NTV never rebroadcast 

their dramas, but they 

did it for Jog Biyog and re-aired it 

on December 16. This was a great 

honour for us. The audience loved 

it, so did the critics. As a result, 

I ended up getting a nomination 

for the Meril-Prothom Alo Award. 

And then I started to believe that 

at least I did not do a bad job. The 

nomination itself is a big enough 

acknowledgement for me. I don’t 

really expect to win. 

Could you tell us about any future 

projects that you are working on? 

Making a film takes a lot of effort. I 

dream to make a full length feature 

of my own in near future. But there 

are some factors to worry about. 

For instance, budget is the biggest 

factor when I think of making a 

film, then you will have to find 

a producer which is not so easy. 

But I have an ongoing project in 

progress, a short film, which I 

believe will be released in coming 

June. I need to prove myself first 

with these short films. • 

Scorsese recalls Robbie’s 

‘stunning’ audition 

• Showtime Desk 

Filmmaker Martin Scorsese 

has penned a tribute to Margot 

Robbie and recalled her audition 

for The Wolf Of Wall Street - how 

she went off-script to secure the 

role by slapping co-star Leonardo 

DiCaprio, right across his face. 

The Australian actress played 

Naomi, the wife of DiCaprio’s 

character Jordan Belfort, in the 

2013 biopic. 

The American filmmaker wrote 

about her audition after she was 

listed in Time magazine’s 100 Most 

Influential People list for 2017. 

Scorsese wrote: “She clinched 

her part in The Wolf Of Wall Street 

during our first meeting – by 

hauling off and giving Leonardo 

DiCaprio a thunderclap of a slap 

on the face, an improvisation that 

stunned us all.” 

The filmmaker also said that 

Robbie has the “unique audacity 

that surprises and challenges and 

just burns like a brand into every 

character she plays.” 

On the other hand, Robbie 

also shared her experience of 

the audition in an interview 

with Harper’s Bazaar in 2015, 

“In my head I was like: ‘You 

have literally 30 seconds left in 

this room and if you don’t do 

something impressive nothing 

will ever come of it. It’s a oncein-a-lifetime 

chance, just take 

it.’” 

Robbie was even terrified that 

DiCaprio might sue her for the 

assault. She is currently filming 

for I, Tonya, which centres around 

the scandal surrounding an attack 

on ice skating champion Nancy 

Kerrigan before the 1994 Winter 

Olympics.•

Aynabaji on TV 

Showtime 

23 


WHAT TO WATCH 

DT 

The Italian Job 

9:30pm, HBO 

After being betrayed and left 

for dead in Italy, Charlie Croker 

and his team plan an elaborate 

gold heist against their former 

ally. 

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Charlize 

Theron, Edward Norton, Seth 

Green, Jason Statham, Mos Def 


Following the colossal success 

of the film, a TV series titled 

Aynabaji Orginal Series, based on 

the original film, is in the making. 

The news was broken at a press 

conference held in the capital on 

Sunday. 

Aynabaji Original Series will 

revolve around the main plot 

of the film, subtly depicting the 

various facades in a man’s life. 

The series comprises of seven 

episodes, an hour each, with 

different storylines, events and 

characters. However, there will 

be a common “Aynabaji vibe” 

throughout the central storyline 

coupled with some exciting 

cinematography. 


Shadman Shahid, a Bangladeshi 

photographer and Pathshala 

South Asian Media Institute 

The creative team behind the 

series assured that every episode 

of the series will represent the 

original film in every aspect 

through the storyline and acting. 

The TV series is slated to 

air during the upcoming Eid 

on three private TV channels, 

GTV, RTV and Deepto TV, 

simultaneously for seven days. 

Amitabh Reza Chowdhury, 

the director of the film, will 

serve as a directorial consultant 

of the TV series while Syed 

Gousul Alam Shaon, the writer 

and a cast member himself, will 

act as a creative consultant for 

the series. 

Tom Creations and Candy 

Production will jointly produce 

the TV show. 

alumnus has been 

selected for the 

prestigious Joop 

Swart Masterclass 

2017, an international 

platform for young 

photographers. 

Organised by World 

Press Photo, the winners 

of the Masterclass were 

declared at a World 

Press Photo Festival in 

Amsterdam. For its 24th 

edition, World Press 

Photo has selected 12 

young photographers 

from 11 different 

countries around the 

world. 

A total of 187 young 

ptohotographers were 

invited to submit their 

portfolios by the World Press 

Photo’s nominating committee 

this year and only 12 of them 

were selected for the final 

The series will be filmed under 

the direction of seven talented 

directors including the likes of 

Krishnendu Chattopadhyay, 

Ashfaq Nipun, Sumon Anwar, 

Goutam Koiri, Taneem Rahman 

Angshu and Robiul Alam Robi. 

Amitabh Reza Chowdhury 

said, “For me, Aynabaji’s biggest 

achievements were seeing the 

happy faces of viewers getting out 

of the theatres, and generating 

a large number of audience who 

usually refrain from watching 

Bangla movies in theatres. The 

initiative for the series has been 

undertaken only to reach out to a 

wider audience.” 

“We are bringing back 

Aynabaji, with new stories, and 

new characters,” he added. 

masterclass. 

Shadman Shahid, a freelance 

documentary photographer, 

was born and raised in Dhaka, 

Bangladesh. Shahid has 

completed his photography 

education from Pathshala South 

Asian Media Institute. His other 

achievements include being 

chosen as one of the “Ones to 

watch” by British Journal of 

Photography in 2016, becoming 

a finalist in Grand Prix Foto 

Festival in 2016 and the third 

prize winner as an emerging 

photographer of Asia in Dali 

International Photographic 

Festival, China, back in 2015. 

Shahid’s works have 

been published in Invisible 

photographer Asia, Photografia 

Magazine, Archivozine Magazine 

Issue 15, British Journal of 

Photography Talent Issue and 

DOC Magazine. He is currently 

serving as a faculty of Pathshala 

Ziauddin Adil, one of the 

producers of the Aynabaji Orginial 

Series and CEO of Top of Mind, 

said, “Aynabaji is a milestone 

in Bangladeshi cinema which 

made the audience come back 

to the theatres. The same minds 

who made that possible on the 

big screen are now coordinating 

the making of Aynabaji Orginal 

Series.” 

The cast of the TV series is yet 

to be revealed. Apart from the 

producers and directors, Aman 

Ashraf Faiz, managing director of 

GTV, Syed Ashik Rahman, CEO of 

RTV, Urfi Ahmad, CEO of Deepto 

TV and actress Urmila Srabanti 

Kar were present at the press 

conference. • 

Bangladeshi photographer selected for Joop 

Swart Masterclass 2017 

South Asian Media Institute. 

Sarker Protick, one of the 

members of the selection 

committee and an internationally 

successful Bangladeshi 

photographer, reflected on this 

year’s candidate portfolios by 

saying, “All the photographers 

are looking to tell stories with 

a strong visual vocabulary, a 

clear approach and consistency 

throughout their works, it was 

not only about craft but also the 

authorship and vision of the 

artist.” 

Joop Swart Masterclass was 

introduced in 1994, and since 

then, this achievement has been 

previously awarded to seven 

Bangladeshi photographers 

who all are Pathshala alumni 

including GMB Akash (2002), 

Munem Wasif (2007), Andrew 

Biraj (2008), Saiful Huq Omi 

(2010), Sarker Protick (2014) and 

Samsul Alam Helal (2016). • 

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan 

9:35pm, Zee Studio 

An Israeli Special Forces Soldier 

fakes his death so he can reemerge 

in New York City as a 

hair stylist. 

Cast: Adam Sandler, John 

Turturro, Emmanuelle Chriqui, 

Nick Swardson, Lainie Kazan 

X-Men Origins: Wolverine 

7:00pm, Star Movies 

A look at Wolverine’s early life, 

in particular his time with the 

government squad Team X and 

the impact it will have on his 

later years. 

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Liev 

Schreiber, Danny Huston, Lynn 

Collins, Kevin Durand 

Sherlock Holmes 

2:28pm, WB 

Detective Sherlock Holmes and 

his stalwart partner Watson 

engage in a battle of wits and 

brawn with a nemesis whose 

plot is a threat to all of England. 

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Jude 

Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark 

Strong, Eddie Marsan 

Monster Hunt 

2:55pm, Movies Now 

In an ancient world where 

monsters rule the land while 

humans keep to their own 

kingdom, a baby monster, 

Wuba, is born to a human 

father and monster queen. 

Cast: Bai Baihe, Jing Boran, 

Jiang Wu, Elaine Jin, Wallace 

Chung, Eric Tsang, Sandra 

NG •



DT 

Back Page 

FURIOUS AFGHANS CALL FOR RESIGNATIONS 

AFTER TALIBAN BASE ATTACK › 9 

U-16 GIRLS STAGE 

BRILLIANT COMEBACK › 18 

AYNABAJI 

ON TV › 23 

Aquatic species dying from 

chemical reaction in haor water 

• Abu Siddique, from 

Sunamganj 

Experts say the water in the haor 

regions in Bangladesh is not radioactive. 

They believe the recent deaths 

of various aquatic species in the 

wetlands have been caused by a 

chemical reaction in the water. 

As news of the deaths of different 

aquatic species, including fish and 

snails, was picked up by the media 

last week, many theorised that the 

water may have become tainted by 

radioactive waste infused water 

flowing down from the uranium 

mines in Meghalaya, India. 

However, a three-member team 

led by Bangladesh Atomic Energy 

Commission member Dr Dilip Kumar 

Saha has been looking into the 

matter and has debunked the theory. 

Dilip said yesterday: “We have 

collected 25 samples from five haor 

regions and did not find any radiation 

in the water. 

“In a normal environment, there 

is usually a radioactivity range of 

0.20 to 0.50. In the haor water, the 

radioactivity reading is at 0.10.” 

The atomic energy team sent 

the samples to their Dhaka lab for 

further analysis, but said it would 

take 28 days to get the final results. 

According to the Department 

Fear of hunger looms over haors 

• Abu Siddique from 

Sunamganj 

Life had been good for Romela Begum 

until the 45-year-old had to stand in 

line for cheap rice. While the mother 

of five from Bishshambharpur upazila 

of Sunamganj was waiting in queue at 

one of the OMS points, she had her first 

brush with nepotism. 

The government undertook open 

market sales (OMS) of cheap staples at 

a number of points across the district 

to provide relief to those affected by 

the sudden floods. 

Romela Begum is one such victim. 

“I have been coming here for four 

days for rice and flour but the vendors 

only sell to people they are close to,” 

she said. 

Like most of her neighbours, and 

indeed others across the district, 

The water breaking through an embankment at a haor in Sunamganj was found to not be radioactive by a Bangladesh Atomic 

Energy Commission team. The photo was taken yesterday 

ABU SIDDIQUE 

of Fisheries, some 50 tonnes of 

fish have died since the country’s 

northeastern part, commonly 

known as haor region, was flash 

flooded in early April. 

Bangladesh Fisheries Research 

Institute’s Chief Scientific Officer 

Dr Masud Hossain Khan claimed 

that a chemical reaction in the 

water was the main cause of these 

deaths. 

He noted that aquatic life forms 

were dying in different pockets 

within the haor basin, which is 

Romela felt the loss of the paddy which 

was now submerged. It would have 

sustained them for the year. 

Romela’s unease and embarrassment 

was evident, yet the middle-aged 

woman was desperate for the cheap 

OMS food because she feared her 

family would otherwise starve because 

of the flooding. 

The OMS points sell rice at Tk15-17 

per kg which is around Tk38 in the 

open market. 

“I would not have been here if the 

paddy fields were there,” she said. 

Romela was not alone. Many others 

had also lined up for the first time. 

Mala Rani Biswas came with her 

11-month-old son Pallab in her arms. 

“I feel embarrassed but I have to do 

this,” said Mala, adding: “it is obvious 

that the coming days will be hard.” 

“We have lost our crop and now we 

comprised of seven districts – Sylhet, 

Sunamganj, Habiganj, Netrakona, 

Kishoreganj, Brahmanbaria 

and Moulvibazar. 

Refuting the radioactivity theory, 

he explained: “Tanguar haor, 

Matian haor and Shanir haor were 

the most impacted by the flash 

flooding and if the cause of death 

for these aquatic species was radiation 

poisoning, then these regions 

would have been hit first. 

“However, we have seen that 

aquatic life which has been most 

affected originate in different pockets 

of the haor basin where the water 

flow is comparatively lower.” 

Masud believes that the ripe paddy 

fields, which were submerged 

by the flooding, had rotted and released 

a large amount of ammonia 

which in turn reduced the level of 

dissolved oxygen in the water. 

He also suggested that frequent 

polluting of the haor waters might 

also have contributed towards 

the deaths of the various aquatic 

species. • 

must wait another year to recover the 

losses.” 

Mokbul Motubbor’s fear and 

grief were apparent in his eyes as he 

snipped handfuls of half ripe paddy at 

Shonir Haor yesterday. This haor – large 

water body that collects water in the 

monsoon – was the last one standing 

among the 42 haors in Sunamganj. 

The sudden flash flooding in the area 

had caused the water to surge over 

the embankment, which inundated 

acre after acre of standing crop – all 22 

square-kilometres of it. 

Mokbul will be among the hardest 

hit. He had 40 acres of paddy, all of 

which he is likely to lose. He could 

not stand by and watch his crop get 

destroyed by the flood in front of his 

eyes, so he is now doing whatever he 

can to save his crop. 

Given the apprehension of impending 

hardship across the haor regions 

of Bangladesh’s north and north east – 

Netrakona, Sunamganj, Brahmanbaria, 

Moulvibazar, Habignaj and Sylhet – the 

government has already decided to 

start selling cheap staples at more OMS 

points than before. It is estimated that 

the floods have destroyed 600,000 

hectares of paddy. 

Although the area is prone to 

such flash flood in late April and 

May, the waters have been early this 

year because of unusual rainfall in 

Cherapunji upstream. The timing has 

been rather bad as the crop would have 

been ready for harvest in just about a 

week. 

Bangladesh produces 34 million 

tonnes of rice, of which Boro accounts 

for 19 million and the haor region 

accounts for about the fifth of the Boro 

acreage of 4.7 million hectares. • 

Shonir Haor gives 

way to flood 

after one month 

• Himadri Shekor Vodro, 

Sunamganj 

One month’s struggle of the farmers 

to keep Shonir Haor intact against 

the flood current has gone in vain 

as parts of two embankments circling 

the Haor have fallen apart. 

A 50-foot-long breach was developed 

on the Lalurgoala embankment 

located at Rajdharpur 

village of Dakkhin Shreepur Union 

in Tahirpur around 2:30am on yesterday, 

according to locals. 

Besides, a part of another embankment 

in neighbouring Ramjibanpur 

village has also breached open. 

The breaches made ways for the 

Boulai River to spill into the paddy 

fields of the basin. 

For the past few weeks, the 

farmers of Hakaluki Haor in the 

north-eastern districts have been 

reeling from the recent flash flood 

that submerged their crop lands, 

and killed fishes and ducks. 

Local agriculture officials say 

until last week, at least 11 upazilas 

of Sunamganj district were heavily 

hit by the flood. 

But Saturday’s heavy rain and onrush 

of hill water has worsened the 

situation in Shonir Haor, the second 

largest water body in the district. 

Tahirpur Upazila Agricultural 

Officer Abdus Salam told the 

Dhaka Tribune that about 10,000 

hectares of land in Shonir Haor 

were brought under paddy cultivation 

by the farmers of some 50 

villages in Tahirpur, Jamalpur and 

Bishambharpur upazilas. 

When the heavy rainfall in late 

March threatened the villagers’ 

crops, they voluntarily worked to 

build some impromptu embankments, 

which finally gave way to 

the strong current of the Boulai. 

Tahirpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer 

Mohammad Saiful Islam said that 

the farmers of Shonir Haor area, 

along with the upazila administration 

and the elected representatives 

had all cooperated in trying to 

repair the embankments, but their 

efforts were in vain. 

Tahirpur Upazila Chairman Kamruzzaman 

Kamrul urged the government 

to find a permanent solution. 

One of the larger of its kind in 

Sunamganj, the low-lying areas of 

Shonir Haor remains under water 

for about six months a year. Paddy 

can be grown only during the 

Boro season (November-April) and 

it is the main income source for the 

people living in the area. • 

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

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

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