''Late blight'' disease breaks out

Potato growers unlikely to achieve production target

LALMONIRHAT, Feb 12: Potato growers in the district may not achieve their production target this season due to widespread outbreak of ''late blight'' disease, reports UNB.
Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) sources said some 150 hectares of potato fields have been affected with the disease due to climate change.
But, potato cultivators claimed that more than 300 hectares of land have been affected so far.
Dense fog at night and hot weather in the day caused the outbreak of the disease in the potato fields, a DAE official said.
Farmers do not get desired results even by using anti-fungal medicines in the potato fields, posing a threat of huge loss in potato cultivation.
Farmers brought some 5,300 hectares of land under potato cultivation in the district in the current season against the target of 5,500 hectares.
However, a district level team is being providing the farmers with necessary advices in controlling the disease, DAE sources said.
The sources also said a national team, consisting of high officials, has been working in the affected areas to find out ways and means to check the disease.
The agronomists said anti-fungal medicines are needed to be sprayed 7/8 times in the fields throughout the season to prevent the ''late blight'' disease.

Anti-social activities going on unabated

Open sale of drugs, exhibition of blue films, floating prostitute, gambling rampant

Our Correspondent
JAMALPUR, Feb 11: Illegal and open sale of phensidyl, hemp, wine, heroin, sedative and other narcotics, exhibition of blue films, floating prostitute and gambling have been vitiating the whole social life and poisoning minds of the young generation of the district including all the seven upazilas.
It is alleged that narcotics and liquor are being sold freely and openly in different shops of the district town and its other upazila towns of the district.
Although there is an office of the narcotics and liquor department of the district headquarters with necessary staff but it is alleged that they are seldom seen to discharge their duties properly.
The drug addiction among the youths has alarmingly increased in different areas of the district for a long time. The addicted are taking different types of drugs according to a pharmacy owner of district town.
As per government rule licences are only given to only bonfide practioners.
According to competent source that the traders involved in drug smuggling and selling of rectified sprit are well placed in the society and hence it is very difficult to touch them and take any action against them by the concerned authorities.
On the other hand it is a common allegation that a section of law enforcers are providing shelters in exchange of under gratification.
The holding of gambling in different haats and bazaars and in different secret places on the very nose of the law enforcing agencies are also creating a big problem for the people in the district. Almost everywhere of the district a group of people organise the gambling. As a result, the innocent people especially the students are being cheated on the hands of these organized gamblers.
On the other hand, theft, burglaries, robbery and other anti-social activities are increasing alarmingly in the area. The gay girls and prostitutes are also creating filthy atmosphere in the town and other upazila levels.
The blue films are also being exhibited by the mobile units of different unlicensed video clubs of the district and other upazilas but it seems there is none to check it in anywhere of the district.
Meanwhile, the local people specially the guardian section brought the matter to the notice of the district and upazila administration several times to stop all these anti-social activities. But no steps have been taken so far by the authorities concerned for unknown reason.
The guardians are in tense of rising immoral activities particularly among their wards as well as younger generation.

Anti-phyleria drive flops in Sirajganj

Our Correspondent

SIRAJGANJ, Feb 12: Phyleria program flops in nine upazila of Sirajganj district. It is known from the base level survey that no officials of the Sirajganj Civil Surgeon office have not taken any initiatives to find out the Phyleria affected persons in the district.
Ramiz Uddin district programs organizer of Phyleria prevention activities could not set up any program regarding Phyleria during the period from 2-11-08 to 12-11-08. The programs already been flopped in Sirajgonj dist: Kobir, Asad of Kazipur Rhaman, Satter, Alom of Belkucy, Rahima, and Johura of Ullapara got no medicine of Phyleria prevention.
It is also alleged from the conscious people that an amount of Taka nearly seven and half a lack and medicine was allotted by the govt. Adopting unfair means lion portion of the above amount and medicine have been looted by the authority concern. On the other hand due to non-activities of the authority concerned the whole program flops and thus the affected people have been suffering for the diseases. Present Civil Surgeon told that the Program had been done during previous Civil Surgeon.

Boro cultivation affected for siltation

CHANDPUR, Feb 12: Cultivation of boro has been affected in twenty percent of targeted land due to siltation in canals at both Chandpur irrigation project and Matlab- Meghna-Donogoda irrigation project, reports BSS.
According to Water Development Board (WDB) 60,000 hectares of land were brought under boro cultivation at both project areas during the current season. Out of the projected land, 80 percent land were brought under irrigation while the rest of the land
could not be brought under irrigation due to scarcity of water as the canals got silted.
Farmers are preparing Boro seedbeds and cultivating paddy in most areas of the dried up river beds.
In some places influential people of villages around the rivers illegally occupied the dried up river beds and turned them into plain lands by filling with earth to use it for regular cultivation
Farmers of the area urged the authorities concerned to re- excavate the canals in order to facilitate irrigation so that they could cultivate their land and achieve the production target.

Touchstone idol recovered, 2 held

TANGAIL, Feb 12: Rapid Action Battalion members arrested two people and seized a touchstone made statue of goddess ''Radha'' from a bus near the eastern side of Bangabandhu Bridge on Tuesday evening, reports UNB.
On secret information, a team of RAB-12 raided the Dhaka-bound bus from Chatmohor and recovered the statue weighing 2.5 kgs in the evening.
They also arrested Altaf Hossain of Jaduar Char in Shibchar upazila of Madaripur district and Abdur Rashid of Bijgiri para in Nalitabari upazila of Sherpur district from the bus in this connection.
The statue would be worth about Tk 2 crore, sources said.

COUNTRY NOTES