‘PM’s visit opens up new horizon in Indo-Bangla ties

Visiting President of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Karen Singh today termed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent visit to India as very successful, saying that it has opened up a new horizon in terms of relations between Dhaka and New Delhi.
He also highly praised the bold leadership as well as farsightedness of Sheikh Hasina, describing her as a rare personality with open and positive mind.
Singh, a veteran Indian politician who holds the rank of a cabinet minister, made the remarks while exchanging views with the leaders of Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Parishad and Mohanagar Puja Committee at the Dhakeswari National Temple in the city this morning.
ICCR Vice President Professor Bharati Dey, Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Rajeet Mitter, other members of the delegation and high officials of the Indian High Commission were present on the occasion.
Singh paid rich tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and hoped that Bangladesh- India relations which were initiated under his dynamic leadership after the independence would be strengthened further in future.
He mentioned that he visited different countries during the War of Liberation of Bangladesh to create public opinion in favour of Bangladesh’s independence.
Upon his arrival at the temple, leaders of Puja Udjapon
Parishad, led by its President Swapan Kumar Saha, welcomed him by presenting a bouquet.
The Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Parishad and Mohanagar Puja Committee leaders who were also present on the occasion included Kajal Devnath, Advocate Subrata Chowdhury, Maj Gen (retd) Jibon Kanai Das, Satyendranath Bhakta, Tapash Paul, AC Nath, Nirmal Chaterjee, Pankaj Devnath and Subhash Singha Roy. The Puja Udjapon Parishad leaders paid homage to former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, saying that her contribution to Bangladesh’s War of Liberation will be ever remembered by the people of this country.

Sanitation a successful social movement in N’region

RANGPUR, March 12: The ongoing government’s sanitation programme for bringing the country under total sanitation coverage has already turned into a successful social movement everywhere in the country, including remote and char areas in the northern region, reports BSS.
Though the exact official achievement statistics of the programme was not available, concerned experts said most of the people have already been using sanitary latrines and only a very fewer number of them are yet to avail the same.
They said most of the villagers including people living in the hardly reachable char areas on the river basins initially sanitized them with the help of dozens of NGOs to create a social movement that continues now everywhere.
However, the economically backward people living in the remote char villages said they had no knowledge about the government activities on sanitation so far and knew the initiative first from the NGOs and voluntary organisations.
The sanitation programme has already become such an irreversible social movement that it will become a complete success even before the government fixed scheduled time frame of 2013, experts and the rural people said.
Side by side with achieving tremendous successes in sanitation, the rural people have also arranged pure drinking waters simultaneously and become more aware about their hygiene that brought incidents of water borne diseases to the minimum everywhere.
Besides, the economically backward people, living in the remote and char areas amid enormous social superstitions, have also become highly motivated through the sanitation programmes and are now advancing with their firm social commitments.
Their successes stories in sanitation have created social awareness among others and the sanitized people are now not allowing child marriages, dowry, polygamy and they are now marrying their daughters only at their adult ages.
Despite enormous allegations about social commitments against hundreds of local NGOs, local experts said the NGOs have achieved appreciable social successes at least in sanitizing the rural people in recent years.
The donor agencies and development partners like CARE- Bangladesh have also played an unparallel role in motivating the rural and economically backward people of the region and many other places of the country on the issue since the year 2004.
Under CARE assistances, since 2004 over one lakh hardcore poor of Rangpur, Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha and other districts have made a unique revolution in achieving hundred percent sanitation coverage at their own initiatives.
Though they began with sanitation programme collectively in the beginning, they soon became successful in changing their economic lots properly utilizing and understanding their strengths of unity from their initial success in sanitation.
Similarly, the distressed people living in the remote and hardly reachable char village in Kurigram on the Brahmaputra have also set an exceptional example in improving their sanitation facilities and subsequently mode of life.
Being inspired and motivated by the officials of Char Livelihood Programme (CLP) of Rangpur-Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS), hundreds of distressed women, who are also beneficiaries of the CLP, deposited their own money for their sanitation purposes.
For example, in Kawniar Char village of Roumari upazila, women of 53 families, deposited Taka 6,625 and purchased 53 sets of sanitation materials with Taka 125 costing for each set and achieved their total sanitation coverage in a day.
“We now understand that awareness, desire and confidence are needed for having better sanitation facilities and every family irrespective of their locations in the country can have better sanitation facilities,” CLP beneficiaries Rita Khatun and Anju said.

Australians build houses in Savar

The Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dr. Justin Lee and 25 members of the Australian community in Dhaka spent a day working with local families to build their houses in Rajashan, Savar recently.
The building work was organized by Habitat for Humanity International – Bangladesh, which focuses on innovative low-cost construction technology for rural Bangladesh.
Australians from the High Commission, International School Dhaka, and Australian Youth Ambassadors in Bangladesh, among other agencies, joined in the work, hauling bricks and sand, and helping with masonry.
The High Commissioner also took the opportunity to hand over a cheque for BDT 10 lac to Habitat’s National Director Ms Kelly Koch during the build event. The funding will be used to promote the use of Compressed Interlocking Earth Blocks (CIEB) into the building practices of low income communities. The CIEB model reduces housing construction costs by up to 30 per cent and enables home owners to construct simple and environmentally friendly homes with a modest down payment.
Dr Lee said, “It is wonderful to be a part of a project that provides a low-cost building material alternative to rural home owners that is also energy efficient. I commend Habitat for investing in sustainable building practices which will make homes more affordable for low-income earners”.
A dedicated day of building was interrupted only briefly for a lunch break, when Dr Lee and his wife Jeanne played a game of cricket with a group of delighted of local children.

UGC team off to London

A six-member teachers delegation led by Chairman of the University Grant Commission(UGC)Prof. Nazrul Islam will leave here tomorrow for United Kingdom to attend the INSPIRE Leadership Training Visit, reports BSS.
The training to be conducted by the British Council will be held from March 13 to 20, a UGC press release said Friday. Other members of the delegation are; UGC member Prof Dr Atful Hai Shibly, Vice Chancellor of Rajshahi University Prof Dr M Abdus Sobhan, Vice Chancellor of Chittaging University Prof Dr Abu Yusuf, Vice Chancellor of Bangladesh Agriculture University Prof Dr Md Abdus Sattar Mandal and joint secretary of the ministry of Education Md Nurul Islam.

Weather

Dry weather likely

Weather is likely to remain mainly dry with temporary party cloudy sky over the country, having change of rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to occur at one or two places over Sylhet division till 6pm today (Saturday), reports UNB
Day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country, Met Office said. The sun sets in the capital today at 6:07pm and rises on Sunday at 6:09 am. Country’s highest temperature 35.4 degree Celsius was recorded Friday at Jessore and lowest 12.0 degrees at Srimongal.

Plea to build non-communal Bangladesh

Industries Minister Dilip Barua on Friday said the children and adolescents would have to be inspired with the spirit of Bangalee nationalism to build a non-communal and terrorism-free Bangladesh, reports BSS.
He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a painting completion organised by Joybangla Sangskritik Oikya Jote at the Fine Arts Institute in the city.
State Minister for Home Shamsul Haq Tuku, Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Ministry Obaidul Quader, MP, Dhaka City Awami League General Secretary Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Sandhani Life Insurance Company Chairman Alhaj Makbul Hossain and AL Joint Secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif also spoke on the occasion.
Joybangla Sangskritik Oikya Jote President Salahuddin Badal presided over the function.
The industries minister said the real respect to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman would have to be shown by building an industrial Bangladesh for the future generation.
For this, a meritorious generation capable of leading the country by facing the challenges of globalization would have to be groomed up, he added.
Dilip Barua said the creative thoughts of the children would be hampered, if the victory of the pro-liberation force cannot be sustained in future.
It should be made clear to the futue generation that
Bangabandhu was the pioneer of Bangalee nationhood and he was the proclaimer of independence, he added.
The minister called for presenting the real history of the Liberation War to the new generation and inspiring them with the spirit of non-communalism and Bangalee nationalism. More than 100 children took part in the art competition organised marking the 90th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu.

Modern oncology deptt opens at Square Hospital

Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr AFM Rahul Haq on Friday inaugurated modern oncology and radiotherapy centre in Square Hospital in the city, reports BSS.
He also inaugurated linear escalator machine and radiotherapy centre in the underground floor and visited the simulator room, said an official release here.
Earlier, the minister, addressing a function on the occasion, said some private institutions are making significant contributions to the improvement of the quality of health services along with the government.
He urged the Square Hospital authorities to keep up and enhance the reputation it has already achieved in the field of medical treatment.
He suggested the hospital authorities to give some facilities to the poor patients.
The minister advised the advanced private hospitals to develop skilled manpower of their own without depending on the training provided by the government.
Chaired by Square Group Chairman Samson H Chowdhury, the function was also addressed by Prime Minister’s Adviser Prof Dr Syed Modasser Ali and Health Secretary Sheikh Altaf Ali.

UAE donates $ 2,28,743 to IUT

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has donated US Dollar 2,28,743 to Islamic University of Technology (IUT) as full settlement of UAE contribution to the budget of IUT, a subsidiary organ of the Organisation of the Islamic
Conference (OIC) for the financial year 2010, reports BSS.
Ghazi Abdulla Al-Ashoor, Charge d’ Affaires, Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Bangladesh, handed over a cheque for the amount to Professor M. Imtiaz Hossain, Vice-Chancellor of IUT, when he called on him at his office on Thursday.
The IUT vice-chancellor thanked the charge d’ affaires and the UAE government for the contribution and the moral support given to the university.
He also apprised the envoy of the ongoing academic activities of the university.
The charge d’ affaires assured the vice-chancellor of continued help and assistance from the United Arab Emirates to this prestigious university of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference for its overall development.

UGC to help DU protect Shaheed Minar

The University Grants Commission (UGC) will provide cooperation to Dhaka University, if it takes measures in maintaining and protecting the Central Shaheed Minar, reports BSS.
UGC Chairman Prof Nazrul Islam told at a press conference on ‘Maintenances and security of Central Shaheed Minar’ organized by the UGC here yesterday.
UGC Member Prof Dr Md Hakim and Secretary Md Khaled, among others, were present at the press conference.
Prof Nazrul said there are a number of sites- Shaheed Minar, Mazars of national three-leaders, Oporajeyo Bangla, Swoparjita Swadhinata, Madhur Canteen, DUCSU Sanggrashala, Mazars of national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, Shilpachraya Joynul Abedin and artist Kamrul Hasan, Abul Barkat Smriti Jadughar on the DU campus.

New chain book shop opens in city

Nation will move forward through creation of reading habit and purchasing of books. If chain bookshops can be created through marketing of books in a planned manner then books can be reached to readers at the grassroots level. Readers, writers, publishers and all others should come forward to develop this.
Speakers said this while addressing the inaugural session of an international standard chain book shop — PBS Ltd. at 43, Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Sarak, Shantinagar in the capital on Friday, said a press release.
Fiction writer Rabeya Khatun, Vikarunnessa Noon School and College Principal Rokeya Akhter Begum, Dhaka Ahsania Mission President Kazi Rafiqul Alam, child litterateur Faridur Reza Sagar, fiction writer lmdadul Haq Milon, journalist and fiction writer Anisul Huq, actor Afzal Hossain, singer Samina Chowdhury and Chief Executive Officer of ‘Anno Prokash’ Mazharul Islam were present as guests at the inauguration.
Managing Director Md. Abdullah Al Baki, Directors Md Kawser Hasan and Kamrul Hasan Shayok of Panjeree Publications Ltd. were also present there.

Death of Majnu Mia condoled

Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan Friday expressed deep shock at the death of Mia Abdul Wahab alias Majnu Mia of Maligram Mia Bari under Bhanga upazila in Faridpur district, reports BSS.
In a condolence message, the shipping minister prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family.

DHAKA NOTES