e_Paper, Monday, July 03, 2017

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2 MONDAY, JULY 3, 2017 DT News Flash floods wreak havoc in Moulvibazar, Sylhet • Saiful Islam, Moulvibazar and Mohammed Serajul Islam, Sylhet DISASTER As monsoon rains once again cause rivers in the northeast parts of Bangladesh to swell, flash floods have struck again. Vast tracts of Moulvibazar and Sylhet have become inundated for the third time this year due to the flash floods and the following onrush from the hills. 200,000 people stranded in Moulvibazar The flood has submerged some 29 unions of Moulvibazar’s Kulaura, Juri and Borolekha upazilas. Most of the houses, schools and roads are now underwater, stranding some 200,000 people. The recent flash flood has taken a heavy toll on the farmers and fishermen of the surrounding areas as they had no necessary precautions for such an untimely disaster. In March, the rivers Sonai, Kontinala, Juri and Kushiara became overflown and caused a flash flood which submerged vast swathes of land in Sunamganj and Moulvibazar. The series of frequent natural calamities have pushed the dwellers of these areas into a serious crisis. Local farmers have incurred a huge loss due to the damage of the Boro paddy caused by the March flood. And the recent flash flood has put another nail in the coffin of their fortune inundating the seedbeds of Aush and Aman paddy. Locals in Fenchuganj upazila, Sylhet are forced to shop groceries on a boat as all the roads are now inundated in flood water. This is the third time in 2017 that Sylhet has been struck by flash flood DHAKA TRIBUNE Many of the government offices that were supposed to resume yesterday after Eid vacation are also submerged. Officials were seen using boats to go to their offices. The government has been distributing relief materials among the affected people through various disaster management programmes such as Gratuitous Relief (GR), Vulnerable Group Development (VGD) and Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF), yet the allocation is very scarce compare to the demand. Kulaura Upazila Parishad Chairman AFM Kamrul Islam has urged the government to announce this region as a crisis-stricken area and take immediate steps to resolve the crisis. Moulvibazar Water Development Board’s Executive Engineer Bijay Indra Sarker told the Dhaka Tribune that the rainwater flowed down to the rivers Sonai, Kontinala and Juri through hundreds of hilly channels. “The water of the Hakaluki haor passes through the Kushiara River. But the water level in the river is flowing 29cm above the danger limit, causing the excess water to overflow the banks of the river,” he added. Minister Nahid visits flood areas Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid flew to Sylhet yesterday afternoon and visited his electorate in Golapganj. The minister is scheduled to continue his visit through today. Awami League to distribute relief on Monday A five-member delegation led by Awami League Organising Secretary Md Misbah Uddin Siraj is 15 WDB officials, 46 others sued for crop losses • Himadri Shekor Vodro, Sunamganj CURRENT AFFAIRS The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has sued 61 people including 15 Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) officials over the losses of crops in Sunamganj. ACC Assistant Director Faruq Ahmed filed the case with Sunamganj Sadar police station against the BWDB officials of Sunamganj and Sylhet, and 46 contractors and their associates yesterday. Sunamganj BWDB Executive Engineer Afsar Uddin, Sylhet BWDB former superintendent engineers Nurul Islam Sarker and Md Abdul Hye are among the accused. Harvest of 166,612 hectares of land was inundated and 400,000 Haor people were affected in the recent flash flood in the district. • scheduled to visit the inundated areas in Sylhet today. Siraj will be accompanied by Central Working Committee member Badaruddin Ahmed Kamran, Sylhet Awami League President advocate Lutfar Rahman, General Secretary Shafiqur Rahman Chowdhury and AL MP Mahmud-us- Samad Chowdhury. Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader urged all Awami League leaders and workers in Sylhet to do everything in their power to assist the relief distribution programme. • Report: Northern Bangladesh is likely to experience flood • Abu Siddique FORECAST The water level of the Brahmaputra basin is likely to rise above danger level in the next few days, a monitoring agency forecast. The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) based their assessment on the trend of the rainfall in the upper catchment of the river in India’s Assam and the incessant heavy rainfall in the upstream that has been continuing for the last couple of days. “If the rainfall continues like this, Bangladesh might experience a flash flood in the northern districts beside the Brahmaputra banks – commonly known as Jamuna in Bangladesh,” said Sazzad Hossain, executive engineer of FFWC. According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the Assam and Meghalaya states there will experience heavy to torrential rainfall till July 06. Under the influence of the heavy rainfall in the upstream from the last few days, the water level of another major river system in northern Bangladesh, Teesta, has been flowing 5cm above the danger level. FFWC also reported that the water level of Brahmaputra might likely to rise in the next 24 hours. Meanwhile, the water level of the Surma-Kushiyara river system in the northeastern part of the country is above danger level in the last two days due to the rainwater coming down from upstream. FFWC in its flood summary that was issued on Sunday morning said the Surma is flowing 67cm above the danger level at Kanaighat area, and the Kushiyara is flowing above 77cm, 72cm and 24cm of danger level at Amalshid, Sheola and Sherpur-Syhet areas respectively. • Flood shuts down 175 schools in Sylhet • Mohammed Serajul Islam, Sylhet DISASTER The flood in Sylhet has forced 175 educational institutes to shut down. Among them, 162 are primary schools and the other 13 secondary schools. Sylhet Primary Education Officer Nurul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that three schools each in Fenchuganj and Beanibazar have been turned into shelters for the time being. He said the schools have been instructed to resume classes as soon as the floodwater recedes. Secondary Education Officer Gulzar Ahmed Khan added that 25 secondary schools are also waterlogged, in addition to the 13 schools already flooded. Flooding in six upazilas commenced on Friday. The Relief and Rehabilitation Office has allocated 127 tonnes of rice and Tk2.77lakh in cash for aid. The Water Development Board said that as of 3pm yesterday, the major rivers in Sylhet had surpassed the danger level. The Surma is flowing 54cm above the danger level in Kanaighat, the Kushiara is flowing 74cm, 88cm and 23cm above the danger levels in Sheola, Amalsid and Sherpur respectively. Md Sirajul Islam, executive engineer at the Water Development Board, said the weather forecasts predict rain, which may aggravate the conditions. Sylhet Deputy Commissioner Rahat Anowar called for several emergency meetings yesterday. He said the Surma and Kushiara rivers have flooded Zakiganj, Beanibazar, Golapganj, Osmaninagar and Balaganj. The DC said the administration is working to set up flood shelters and provide relief to the affected. •
PM Hasina warns government secretaries against corruption • Asif Showkat Kallol and Shohel Mamun GOVERNMENT News MONDAY, 3 JULY 3, 2017 Secys want better tenure, retirement facilities • Asif Showkat Kallol and Shohel Mamun GOVERNMENT DT Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presides over a meeting with government secretaries at the Secretariat in Dhaka yesterday FOCUS BANGLA Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has warned government secretaries and administrative staff to stay away from corruption and instructed them to ensure good governance. Speaking at a meeting with the top executives and secretaries of ministries and government divisions at the Secretariat yesterday, the premier also urged the officials to take strong initiatives to reduce wealth distribution gap in the country. “Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman always emphasised the importance of equal distribution of state resources among the people of the country,” she said. Cabinet Secretary (Reform and Coordination) MN Ziaul Alam briefed reporters after the meeting. He said the prime minister had asked local administrations to stop using and trafficking illegal substances. “Local administrations must run all-out campaigns against militancy and drug addiction,” she added. The prime minister mentioned that the wages of civil servants had improved significantly under her government, and directed all government officials to ensure good governance and reduce hassle for the citizens who seek service. “She directed the secretaries to take initiatives so the land and river ports around the country stay open round the clock to facilitate export and import and ensure the interests of local businesses,” said Ziaul Alam. He said the prime minister also harshly reminded the secretaries concerned to maintain adequate funds in all the district administrations for smooth relief efforts as a fresh bout of floods strikes parts of the country. Saying development projects should be aimed at benefiting the maximum number of people, she told the meeting that all the common people want are projects that make their lives and livelihoods better. Hasina urged the secretaries to work sincerely in priority projects and instructed them to establish new industries in the special economic zones. She stressed the importance of tree plantation in the rural areas and said every secretary should work toward achieving the UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goals. She also emphasised training young government officials who are going to stay in service for a long period of time. Furthermore, Hasina instructed the government secretaries to increase the number of fast-track projects. She also instructed to complete paperwork of all impending projects within the first three months of the current fiscal year, as it is the time of monsoon. “Finish the paperwork so the work can be started as soon as the monsoon passes,” she said. • Secretaries of different ministries and divisions have demanded a raise in several facilities, including an extension of their job tenure to 62 years and better retirement facilities, officials said. Currently, the retirement age of civil servants is 59 years. The government secretaries placed their demands to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a meeting at the Secretariat yesterday. Seventy-seven secretaries attended the meeting, some of whom praised their own work in front of the prime minister. A source familiar with the meeting, said: “They [the secretaries] wanted separate logo like the ones the justices use in their cars and in front of their homes and offices.” They also requested the premier to increase retirement facilities, demanding that all the benefits of the post-retirement leave (PRL) be provided to them. The prime minister, however, did not make any comment about the demands. Rather, she questioned why the number of vacant posts in public service had increased. She also ordered them to promote eligible civil servants who are performing well, sources said. It was the second time that the premier sat with government secretaries after taking office for the second consecutive time in 2014. • SIKKIM STAND-OFF Eye on China, India pushes more troops in Doka La • Tribune Desk WORLD India has pushed in more troops in a “non-combative mode” to strengthen its position in an area near Sikkim, where its soldiers have been locked in a stand-off with Chinese troops for almost a month now in what has been the longest such impasse between the two armies since 1962, the Times of India reports India brought in more troops after the destruction of two of its bunkers and “aggressive tactics” adopted by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), sources said. In a “non-combative mode”, the nozzle of a gun is placed downwards. Giving details for the first time about the events that preceded the face off between the two armies, the sources said the PLA on June 1 asked the Indian Army to remove the two bunkers set up in TENSION BETWEEN INDIA AND CHINA New Delhi denounces the Chinese army building a road on territory which is also claimed by Bhutan 100 km CHINA INDIA BHUTAN NEPAL 2012 at Lalten in Doka La, which falls in the vicinity of Chumbi Valley at the corner of India-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction. The Indian Army, which had been patrolling this area for many years, decided Doklam Plateau Gangtok BANGLADESH CHINA THIMPHU BHUTAN INDIA in 2012 that two bunkers would be positioned there as a backup option, besides providing security to the Bhutan-China border. The Indian Army forward positions informed Sukna-based 33 Corps Headquarter in North Bengal about the Chinese warnings on the bunkers, the sources said. This is the longest stand-off between the two armies since 1962. The last one, which carried on for 21 days, occurred at Daulat Beg Oldie in the Ladakh division of Jammu and Kashmir in 2013, when Chinese troops entered 30 km into Indian territory till the Depsang Plains and claimed it to be a part of its Xinjiang province. They were, however, pushed back. Sikkim, which became a part of India in May 1976, is the only state which has a demarcated border with China. The lines are based on a treaty signed with the Chinese in 1898. After the India-China war of 1962, the area where the Indian troops are stationed was placed under the Indian Army and the ITBP, which is the border guarding force and has a camp 15km from the international border. As the scuffle broke out between the two sides, the Indian Army rushed an officer of the Major General rank to the area and a flag meeting was sought with the Chinese counterparts. China rejected two such requests from the Indian side, but accepted the third call for a meeting, where it asked the Indian Army to withdraw its troops from the Lalten area, which falls in Doka La. Doka La is the Indian name for the region which Bhutan recognises as Dokalam, while China claims it to be part of its Donglang region. Defence experts believe China wants to exert its dominance over the Chumbi Valley, which is a part of the southern reaches of Tibet. By claiming the Doka La area, Beijing wants to maximise its geographical advantage so that it can monitor all movements along the India-Bhutan border. China has also increased diplomatic pressure on India and lodged a protest over the alleged “crossing of boundary” by Indian troops in the Sikkim section. •
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Page 5 and 6: Who poisoned Nibras’ mind? • Nu
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