SECOND EDITION

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016 | Magh 29, 1422, Jamadiul Awal 1, 1437 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 3, No 296 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

INSIDE

History beckons Bangladesh U-19For the very rst time in the history of Bangla-desh cricket, the nation will have a side playing in the semi- nal of an ICC WC event when junior Tigers take on the West Indies today in the sec-ond semi- nal of the U-19 World Cup. PAGE 25

Poetry makes a mark at book fairPoets continued to publish new titles enriching Bangla literature as new arrivals at Amar Ekus-hey Book Fair over the last few days included a good number of poetry books. PAGE 32

Court blocks Obama carbon emissions planThe US Supreme Court delivers a major blow to President Obama by putting on hold federal reg-ulations to curb carbon emissions mainly from coal- red power plants, the centerpiece of his strategy to combat climate change. PAGE 23

Dead baby kept on life support Even after the death of a 16-month-old baby girl, the Japan Bangladesh Friendship Hospital had allegedly been keeping her lifeless body on life support at the ICU, without notifying the family about her passing. PAGE 3

Sluggish development of Gulshan LakeThe Gulshan-Banani-Baridhara Lake develop-ment project is progressing at snails pace as Rajuk has been facing erce opposition from land grabbers. PAGE 7

Iran-India gas pipeline could bene t Bangladeshn Aminur Rahman RaselThe reopening of Iran, now that sanctions against the country have been eased follow-ing the signing of a nuclear deal with the world powers, could be a boon to Bangla-deshs energy sector.

The government is planning a high level meeting to determine what a proposed pipe-line between Iran and India via the sea, and by-passing Pakistan, will mean for Bangla-desh and to decide what to do next.

EMRD Acting Secretary Nazimuddin Chow-dhury told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday: We will sit to review the matter on February 16.

The Prime Ministers Power and Ener-gy Adviser Taw q-e-Elahi Chowdhury and State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid are scheduled to at-

tend the meeting.The proposed pipeline could help satisfy

Bangladeshs hunger for energy, but the deal must be carefully negotiated if Bangladesh is to bene t, energy experts said.

If we can access the pipeline, we will be bene tted, an Energy and Mineral Resources Division o cial said, asking not to be named, but added: We have to be cautious when ne-gotiating transmission charges and tari s.

Energy negotiations with India have seen hiccups in recent times.

Previous plans to construct a 130km fuel oil pipeline between the Indian town of Silig-uri and Parbatipur in Dinajpur fell through after Indian state-owned Numaligarh Re n-ery Limited sought an exorbitant premium for diesel exports to Bangladesh.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

TEA-SELLERS DEATH

Informant went out of hand under police protectionn Kamrul HasanO cers at Shah Ali police station in the cap-ital extorted money from local criminals through their network of informants. In re-turn, they cut slack for their men.

In Babul Matabbors case, informant Delowar Hossain overstepped his bound-aries, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Masud Ahmed admits.

Apparently acting under police protec-tion, Delowar burned tea-seller Babul to death at Mirpur earlier this month. The in-formant regularly collected money from lo-cal drug peddler Parul, who had a tussle with Babul and is listed as the main accused in the murder case.

Police sources say informants are usually chosen from among criminals. ADC Masud told the Dhaka Tribune: They [informants] do not have the authority to take actions Babul was set on re before the police patrol team had arrived. The policemen neglected their duties.

Babuls family has been claiming that the o cer for whom informants Delowar and Aiyub Ali worked for, is the man behind the incident. ADC Masud said the informants worked for Sub-Inspector Mominur Rahman.

O cer-in-Charge AKM Shahin Mondol, SI Shreedham Chandra Hawlader, SI Mominur, SI Niaz Uddin Mollah, ASI Jogendranath and Con-stable Jasim Uddin were withdrawn following the incident. Four of them, except OC Shahin and SI Shreedham, have been suspended.

A Dhaka Tribune investigation found that Delowar collected extortion money from Parul while Aiyub collected money from Moli and Juli, who sold drugs in Road 5 area near the police station. Another informant collected money from Tania, a drug peddler based near the national zoo.

Shah Ali residents alleged that police only arrested buyers and spared the drug peddlers, whom they considered as their golden geese. Sometimes police intentionally arrested wrong persons to let the peddlers go scot-free.

Gudaraghats Kazifuri residents said PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

US spy chief sees rise in militancyin Bangladeshn Tribune DeskThe US intelligence chief has claimed that e orts by the Bangladesh government to undermine the political opposition would probably provide openings for transnational terrorist groups to expand their presence, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.

Several Bangladeshi security analysts, however, refuse to accept the view, saying the statement was issued only to give polit-ical edge for someone.

US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper questioned Bangladeshs public in-sistence that the killings of foreigners Tavel-la Caesar and Hoshi Kunio were the work of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, and are intend-ed to discredit the incumbent government.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Informants are a necessary part of the police forces e orts in upholding the law and protecting citizens. But recent events such as the death of a tea-seller and the shooting of a rickshaw-puller have exposed how, in many cases, informants use their in uence over law enforcers to serve their own vendettas by making the police accomplices in crime RAJIB DHAR

News2DTTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Informant went out of hand under police protectionDelowar was a familiar face there and that he tipped police only about drug buyers. He kept locals in dark about his profession. Delowar always carried a pair of handcu s and often posed as a policeman, a local said, adding that Shah Ali police o cers were privy to the information.

Delowar was also involved in last weeks arrest of three men, including one Mokter Hossain who is locally known as an arms dealer. A resident told the Dhaka Tribune that former OC Shahin had let him go after taking a Tk1 lakh bribe. SI Mominur led the drive.

Fear grips victims family, witnessesBabuls family and witnesses have softened tones, presumably fearing for their safety. No murder case has been led yet and Babuls son Raju said they were waiting for police in-vestigation reports.

The family was expected to le a case against policemen who were at the spot but hinted at opting out if polices internal probe found their men guilty.

Separate police investigations faulted OC Shahin, SI Mominur, SI Niaz, ASI Jogen-dranath and Constable Jasim. An investiga-

tion committee recommended disciplinary action against Mominur, Niaz, Jogendranath and Jasim. It found Niaz guilty of letting one of the attackers go, and the three of not tak-ing any action. The OC was accused of failing to control his subordinates.

I do not want anything to happen to my sister, Raju said. His aunt Shamsunnahar said they did not le a case as witnesses re-tracted their statements. Some are now say-ing that they went to the spot after police had left while others claim they could not recog-nise anyone.

The locals, too, were cautious and many refused to speak. Witness Anwar Hussain said a plainclothesman had stopped him from helping Babul. I am not sure if he was a policeman, he said. Anwar had previous-ly claimed that police prevented locals from helping Babul.

Witness Jahanara Begum said she had seen Babul on re and the policemen ee but asserted that she could not recognise anyone.

You know how it works. The situation forces us to keep mum, said another wit-ness, who declined to be identi ed. l

Iran-India gas pipeline could bene t BangladeshBut Iran is very keen to do business with Bangladesh.

A recent Iranian business delegation led by Mohammad Reza Moudoody, adviser to Irans Industries, Mines and Commerce min-ister told Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed recently that Iran was interested in exporting Lique ed Petroleum Gas to Bangladesh.

The Hindu.com reports that the proposed $4.5 billion pipeline under the Arabian Sea

will transport 31.5 million standard cubic me-tres of gas under the per day and is expected to be built within two years of the signing of the gas sale and purchase agreement.

A senior Iranian o cial recently said nego-tiations were being held to build the pipeline from Iran to Indias western coast following Indias rejection of a proposal for an overland pipeline that would pass through Pakistan.

As per the proposal being discussed, South

Asia Gas Enterprise (Sage) will lay a 1,400 km pipeline bypassing the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Pakistan. Any company want-ing to buy gas from Iran can rent the pipeline.

Tehran-based Mehr news agency reported that Iran agreed to award a $3 billion contract to develop the Farzad B gas eld in the Per-sian Gulf to a consortium of Indian compa-nies led by Indias state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

Mehr quoted the director of the Falat Ghare oil company, Saeed Hafezi, as saying the easing of sanctions signi ed that the con-sortium could resume eld development, the rst phase of which aims to produce one bil-lion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

The Farzad B eld, discovered by the Indi-an explorers overseas arm ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), is estimated to hold initial in-place gas reserves of 12.5 trillion cubic feet. l

Still nothing in Sagar-Runi murder proben Mohammad Jamil Khan and Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

Four years after journalist couple Sagar Saro-war and Meherun Runi were killed, investi-gations have returned very little.

Rapid Action Battalion has spent around Tk1 crore for investigation but has so far failed to arrest any culprits and uncover motives.

In September last year, RAB changed the in-vestigating o cer. Mohiuddin Ahmed, an as-sistant police super (ASP), replaced Wares Ali.

When contacted, ASP Mohiuddin said they were hopeful about a breakthrough soon.

So far, eight people have been arrested, three of whom are out on bail, he said.

On February 11, 2012, Sagar, news editor

of Maasranga TV, and Runi, senior reporter of ATN Bangla, were killed in their rented at at West Rajabazar of Dhaka. Runis brother Nowsher Alam Roman led a case with the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police later.

The then home minister Shahara Khatun assured identifying and arresting the killers within 48 hours.

Three days later, DMP spokesperson Mon-irul Islam said suspects were under watch. A month later, then police chief Hassan Mahmud Khandker claimed to have made signi cant progress in probe.

However, all these turned out to be futile as police nally admitted failure. Later, the High Court handed over the investigation to RAB.

Since the murder, there have been at least

146 hearing sessions at the court of Dhakas chief metropolitan magistrate.

According to case documents, 158 people have been interrogated. Investigators also recorded statement of the couples only son Mahir Sawar Megh.

As part of the probe, RAB sent 50 pieces of evidence to a US lab, which identi ed two sam-ples and said no matter who the killers were, their DNA must match with those two samples.

Frustrated with the slow progress in in-vestigation, Roman said they did not even know that the investigating o cer had been changed.

We have already given up hopes. Our only concern now is the future of Megh, Ro-man said. l

US spy chief sees rise in militancy in BangladeshIn a written testimony to a Senate hearing on worldwide threats, Clapper noted the claims of responsibility from the Daesh group (Is-lamic State) for 11 high-pro le attacks on foreigners and religious minorities, and the claims from outlawed militant group An-sarullah Bangla Team and al-Qaeda in the In-dian Subcontinent (AQIS) for killing at least 11 progressive writers, bloggers and publish-ers in Bangladesh since 2013.

The claims by Daesh group were reported by SITE Intelligence Group, a US-based web-site monitoring jihadi activities, whereas An-sarullah and AQIS made the claims through Twitter and Facebook accounts.

The current Bangladesh administration repeatedly denied the presence of the Daesh group in the country, and has accused do-mestic militant organisations and political opponents for the attacks, Clapper said.

US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bernicat on several occasions has expressed her gov-ernments plan to assist the Bangladesh gov-ernment in combating militancy.

In a meeting with the home minister last week, Bernicat said that the US government was keen to share information on Daesh and its possible threats in Bangladesh. She add-ed that a US envoy would visit Bangladesh to hand the home minister over the informa-tion.

In his testimony, Clapper said that Bang-ladesh has been in political ferment since the run-up to January 2014 elections that were boycotted by opposition parties, and over war crimes prosecutions brought against Jamaat-e-Islami leaders over their alleged involvement in atrocities during 1971 War of Independence.

Earlier, the US made a similar statement in early 2007 in its Congressional Research Service report, saying culture of political violence and deterioration of Bangladeshs democracy centring elections might create additional space for the Islamist militants.

Maj Gen (retd) Abdur Rashid, a security analyst, refused to accept Clappers com-ments.

The so-called Islamic parties have been found doing it since the beginning of the nineteenth century and we faced militant at-tacks a number of times since then, Rashid told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

If we say it is happening for the present political phenomena, then why did the ter-rorist activities happen earlier? I think that their [US] observation on the issue of mili-tancy is nothing but giving a political edge to someone.

He said that one needs to know about the nanciers and sympathisers to understand the trend of terrorism in the country. Analysing the issues, I can say clearly that the US intelligence chiefs statement cannot be acceptable.

Air Commodore (retd) Ish-faq Ilahi Choudhury, who fol-lows security issues, thinks that the political situation in the country is now stable. I do

not think the political situation may give rise to militant activities.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has reiterated that the killing of foreigners was part of a conspiracy by a group of peo-ple to embarrass the incumbent government. Their international agents are providing them with necessary supports, he said yes-terday. l

BNP xes council venue n Tribune ReportThe BNP yesterday xed Bashundhara Con-vention Centre as the venue for its upcoming national council on March 19.

In a meeting of the partys Standing Com-mittee, chaired by Chairperson Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan o ce, 11 sub-committees were also formed to organise the national council.

BNP sources said the partys Adviser TH Khan would act as the election commissioner for the council; if he cannot take on the role, the responsibility would be carried out by former speaker Jamiruddin Sircar.

The party also decided that it would par-ticipate in the union parishad elections. l

News 3DT

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Dead baby kept on life support at city's Japan Bangladesh Friendship Hospital n Kamrul HasanEven after the death of a 16-month-old baby girl, authorities at the capitals Japan Bangla-desh Friendship Hospital had allegedly been keeping her lifeless body on life support at the ICU, without notifying the family about her passing.

The incident was only revealed when a mobile court, accompanied by RAB 2 and led by Executive Magistrate Helal Uddin, carried out a drive at the Jigatola hospital.

The child, Sumaiya Sabah, was admitted to the hospital on Monday with breathing problems. She was immediately taken to the ICU, where she remained away from her fam-ily until she died.

However, the exact time of her death could not be known.

The mobile court was rst noti ed by the childs mother about the secretive role being played by the hospital sta .

She [the mother] came to us and alleged

that the hospital authorities are not giving any clear information regarding the health condition of her daughter. Based on her alle-gation, I forcefully entered the ICU as the be-haviour of the ICU sta seemed suspicious, and found that the baby was already dead, said Dr Mohammad Shahjahan, a member of the mobile court.

For further con rmation, I took the stethoscope to check the babys heartbeats, but found none. Later, I asked the on-duty doctor to check again. The doctor con rmed that she was already dead, he added.

But hospital authorities claimed they did not notice when Sumaiya had died.

The o cial cause of death was mentioned as brain in ammation, pneumonia, and virus infection.

Baby Sumaiyas mother, Sourabh Binte Islam, told the Dhaka Tribune that she could feel something was wrong even before the mobile court had arrived.

I approached the doctors several times

to know about the latest physical condition of my daughter, suspecting something was wrong.

But they were not letting me know any-thing clear. Instead, they took my signature on four papers which did not contain any detail about my babys health condition, the mother said.

Sourabh said she was allowed to go into the ICU earlier yesterday morning to see her daughter, but what she saw made her suspect that Sumaiya might have already been dead.

During that visit, the mother noticed that Sumaiyas skin colour had faded and her body had become sti .

But the on-duty doctor pointed to ma-chine readings and claimed that the girl was still alive.

When Dr Shahjahan, who is an assistant director at DGHS, was asked whether negli-gence might have caused the death, he said the babys case history showed that it would

have been di cult to save her.But negligence was de nitely found in the

hospitals treatment, he added. Doctors at Japan Bangladesh Friendship

Hospital failed to form a medical board, which should have been done yesterday morning, Dr Shahjahan said.

Also, the room being used as an intensive care unit (ICU) could be best described as a septic ward, the DGHS o cial added.

When contacted, Hospital CEO Dr RM Sa-miul Hasan refused to comment.

I cannot comment on the issue before consulting the doctor concerned as it is a spe-cialised matter, Dr Samiul said.

The babys uncle, Ahmed Aurangzeb, said the family would not be ling any case.

Meanwhile, the mobile court ned the private hospital a total Tk1.15 million for not ful lling three major criteria including keeping unauthorised drugs and issuing diagnostic reports without any experts authorisation. l

Sexual assault claim against SI Ratan truen Md Sanaul Islam TipuThe allegation of sexual harassment of a pri-vate university student raised against Ratan Kumar Howlader, a sub-inspector of Adabor police station, is found true in a judicial in-quiry.

Dhakas Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sheikh Ha zur Rahman yesterday sent the inquiry report to Judge Saleh Uddin Ahmed of the Dhakas Women and Children Repres-sion prevention Tribunal 4.

The tribunal xed February 16 for taking the report into cognisance in the case, Bench Assistant Forkan Miah said.

Earlier, Metropolitan Magistrate Emdadul Haque submitted the report to the CMM court yesterday after conducting a judicial probe over the allegation.

During the probe, Magistrate Emdadul recorded depositions of ve witnesses the victim, her husband Sajib Ahamed, mother Sima Begum, human haulier driver Md Suk-kur Ali and shop owner Khokon.

According to the victims statement, SI Ratan and two other members of Adabor police stopped her rickshaw around 3pm on January 31 while she was on her way to a bookstore in Noorjahan Road area.

The police con ned her, a student of ASA University, to an electronics shop in front of Japan Garden City in Mohammadpur and harassed her for about 45 minutes, accusing her of being a yaba trader.

The SI also ordered the shop owner to leave following which he opened her jacket and handbag, and sexually harassed her in the name of searching for drugs.

Later, the victim led a case with the Dha-kas Women and Children Repression pre-vention Tribunal 4. Tribunal Judge Md Sale-huddin Ahmed ordered a judicial probe into the allegations on February 1. l

HC: Ensure emergency services at all hospitals n Asif Islam Shaon The High Court has directed the government to take necessary steps for providing emer-gency medical services to road accident vic-tims at all government and private hospitals across the country.

The bench of justices Moyeenul Islam Chow-dhury and Md Iqbal Kabir came up with the or-der yesterday, in response to a writ petition.

Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust and Syed Saifuddin Kamal, a social entrepre-neur, led the petition seeking a High Court order on the government to ensure emergen-

cy medical services to injured people at all hospitals and clinics.

The respondents are the Health Ministry, the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry, the Directorate of Health Services and the Bang-ladesh Medical and Dental Council.

The court also sought explanations within four weeks on why the failure to ensure that hospitals and clinics provide emergency medi-cal services to critically injured persons should not be declared to be violation of the funda-mental right to access emergency healthcare.

The court also asked the health secretary and the health directorate DG to explain why

they should not be directed to require hospi-tals, clinics and doctors to ensure immediate emergency medical services when a critically injured person is brought to them, to forward such persons to the nearest emergency de-partment, and to set up a complaints system.

The High Court also ordered the govern-ment to submit a report in three months on the progress of the process under the Nation-al Road Safety Strategic Action Plan 2014-16.

The court ordered measures to create public awareness on post-crash care and treatment of road accident victims through print and electronic media. l

Shyambazar kitchen market is located on the bank of Buriganga River in Old Dhaka. Traders of the market dump waste into the Buriganga River which is polluting environment as well as the river. The photo was taken yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016News4DT

Government asked to submit report on waste managementn Tribune ReportThe High Court directed the authorities concerned to submit re-ports on the steps taken for waste management in Dhaka north and south city corporation areas yesterday.

The court also issued a rule upon the government and the au-thorities of city corporations to explain as to why they should not be directed to take necessary steps for waste management in the city corporation areas. The two mayors of the two city corporations, secretary of the Local Government Ministry, environment secre-tary, DG of the Director of Environment, chief waste management o cer of two city corporations will have to come up with answers in four weeks. The report has to be submitted in three months.

The HC Bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir gave the order and rule following a primary hearing in a writ petition led by Supreme Court lawyer Syed Mohidul Kabir. l

Pakistan plotting against BD in collusion with BNPn Abu Hayat MahmudThe Awami League-led 14-party alliance yesterday alleged that Pakistan was plotting against Bangladesh with the connivance of the BNP and its ally Jamaat-e-Islami.

Spokesperson for the alliance Mohammed Nasim made the remark at a press conference at Awami League President Sheikh Hasinas Dhanmondi o ce in the capital.

He said: Pakistan, like 1971, is conspiring against Bangladesh in the with the help of the BNP and Jamaat. BNP chief Khaleda Zia is Pakistans agent and what she said about the Liberation War martyrs was just part of the conspiracy.

He also warned that all diplomatic ties with Pakistan would be cut if the country did not refrain from plotting against Bangladesh.

Nasim talked about the Simla Agreement and other interna-tional agreements that restrict Pakistan from interfering in Bang-ladeshs internal a airs.

Meanwhile, Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif yesterday said a human chain to be formed on Febru-ary 15 in protest at Khaledas recent remarks would travel through 14 points in the capital. He said the human chain would march from Gabtoli to Jatrabari via Asad Gate, Russel Square and Shahbagh.

Earlier in the day, a meeting was held among leaders of the 14-party alliance and its front organisations, lawmakers and both the mayors of Dhaka to discuss how the human chain protest could be made successful. l

SM Niloy on militant hit-list leaves countryn Tribune ReportAnother secularist writer has left the country in the face of threats issued by banned militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team, which claimed the responsibility of murdering several activists since 2013.

SM Niloy, whose name has rst appeared in Ansarullahs hit-list on February 7, had stopped blogging in 2014. He left for an undis-closed location on Tuesday, according to his Facebook post.

I did not want to leave the country like this. Goodbye Bangla-desh. Hope to see you again. I have reached here safely... he said in Facebook.

Two of his friends also con rmed the matter to the Dhaka Trib-une, adding that the members of the Detective Branch of police had alerted him about a possible attack.

Niloy used to write on Mukto-Mona, a blogging platform for atheists founded by slain science writer Avijit Roy, Amar Blog and somewhereinblog.net.

The latest hit-list published by a Bangla daily on February 7 also contained the names of three other secular activists and writ-ers Parvez Alam, Nur Nabi Dulal and Ananya Azad. They have already left the country out of fear.

Earlier, Shuddhashar publisher Ahmedur Rashid Tutul and poet-blogger Tareq Rahim, who were injured in an attack carried out by suspected Ansarullah men on October 31 last year, left the country in November. l

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016News 5

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PRAYERTIMES

Coxs Bazar 28 17Dhaka 31 19 Chittagong 27 19 Rajshahi 30 16 Rangpur 28 14 Khulna 30 19 Barisal 31 18 Sylhet 28 13T E M P E R AT U R E F O R E C A S T F O R TO DAY

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 5:51PM SUN RISES 6:34AM

YESTERDAYS HIGH AND LOW29.40 13.8C

Patuakhali RajshahiTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11

Source: IslamicFinder.org

Fajr: 5:17am | Zohr: 12:13amAsr: 4:13pm | Magrib: 5:52pmEsha: 7:20pm

DRY WEATHER

Bangladesh seeks security training for airportn Sheikh Shahariar ZamanCivil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon yesterday briefed diplomats of six embassies about the steps taken to im-prove security at the Shahjalal International Airport.

An o cial of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh made a presentation on the steps taken, said an o cial who was present at the meeting.

The steps are: deployment of airport se-curity force, renovation of cargo warehouse, restriction on outsiders entry to cargo ware-house area, installation of scanners and initi-atives to buy new equipment.

We briefed them about our position and they told us that they would send report to

their countries about the development, the o cial said.

After a Russian plane was exploded in Egypt in October, securities at airports around the world were heightened.

Another o cial said the government sought assistance from the countries to pro-vide proper security training and they said they would consider it.

We also told them that it would take time to buy necessary equipment, he said.

The government would buy equipment worth Tk800 million for security up-grada-tion at the airport but due to procurement policy it would take three to four months to complete the procedures.

Envoys from United Kingdom, Japan and Germany, and senior diplomats from Cana-

da, United States and Australia were present at the meeting.

Bangladesh last month submitted a time-bound sustainable planning for the improve-ment of airport security.

The British authorities have wanted to inspect Dhaka airport for quite a long time and in November they sent a team to see by themselves the security situation.

Regional Liasion O cer for Aviation Safe-ty for Asia-Paci c Region Jon Lovsey came in November and submitted its rst report where he mentioned security lapses for pas-senger movement.

Lovsey again visited Dhaka in mid-De-cember and submitted its report where se-curity lapses in cargo handling system were highlighted. l

Tk5381cr electricity bills in arrearsn Tribune ReportState Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid yesterday told the parliament that the total amount of electrici-ty bills in arrears is Tk5,381cr.

As of October 2015, the amount of out-standing electricity bills is Tk5,381cr in the country, he said replying to a question add-ing that a number of measures have already been taken to realise the bills.

The junior minister said the measures include enlisting defaulters, disconnecting electricity line, forming special teams to col-lect the outstanding bills and taking legal ac-tions against the defaulters.

In reply to another query, Hamid said the total system loss in power supply and distri-bution came down to 13.55% in 2014- 2015 scal from 14.13% in 2013-2014.

The system loss was 15.73% in 2009-2010 scal, he said. l

Mayor injured in leopards attack in Sherpurn Our Correspondent, SherpurThe mayor of Sreebardi municipality in Sher-pur was admitted to hospital as he sustained critical injuries after a leopard attacked him yesterday.

Abu Sayeed, also a local Awami League leader, was attacked by the leopard that came down from a hill near the border with India in the morning and hid in a forest under the municipalitys Jaalkata area.

Locals later rescued the mayor from the leopard and beat it to death in the presence of hundreds of onlookers.

Sayeed was rst taken to a hospital in Sreebardi but was later transferred to Sher-pur District Hospital.

For better treatment, the mayor was ad-mitted to Mymensingh Medical College Hos-pital, said Sherpur Civil Surgeon Dr Anwar Hossain.

S Alam, o cer-in-charge of Sreebardi po-lice station, said the leopard measured around 4-4.5 feet in length.

Monirul H Khan, a zoology professor at Ja-hangirnagar University, said there are some leopards in the hills located in the border ar-eas but there is no o cial gure.

Leopards are endangered in Bangladesh but not abroad, he added. l

PM: Most of the provisions of CHT Treaty implementedn Tribune ReportPrime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday told parliament that most of the provisions of Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Treaty were implemented.

We have already implemented 48 clauses out of 72 clauses of the CHT Treaty and are working sincerely to implement the rest of the clauses, she said replying to a query.

The premier also said 48 clauses have al-ready been implemented fully and 15 claus-es have been implemented partially and the nine are under implementation.

Hasina said that her government had tak-en di erent programmes, including in com-munication and education sectors, as part of implementation of the treaty signed on De-cember 2, 1997.

She criticised the previous BNP-led alli-ance government for slowing down imple-mentation process after the alliance came to power in 2001.

She said the government took all-out steps to implement the CHT Treaty after the surrender of arms by the Janasanghati Pari-shad and other groups on February 10, 1998.

The Awami League government and the Janasanghati Samity signed the treaty through discussion and we did not involve any foreign force or others, she said.

The prime minister said her government had treated the problem politically and observed that it was not possible to solve it militarily.

Hasina said 119 military camps out of the 232 have already been withdrawn and the rest to be pulled out in phases to implement Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Treaty.

There is a plan to pull out army person-nel in time through withdrawing the tempo-rary camps after developing the infrastruc-ture, she said. l

Locals in Sherpurs Sreebardi municipality area beat a leopard to death after the animal attacks the municipality mayor, leaving him injured yesterday KAMRUZZAMAN ABU

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016News6DT

Muktijuddhe EPR (Bortoman BGB) book unveiledn Tribune ReportA book on the contribution of then East Pa-kistan Ri es, which is now Border Guard Bangladesh, in the 1971 Liberation War was unveiled yesterday.

Titled Muktijuddhe EPR (Bortoman BGB), the book was unveiled by BGB Director Gen-eral Major General Aziz Ahmed at the forces headquarters in the capitals Pilkhana, said a press release.

Top BGB o cials were present at the pro-gramme.

The force has a rich history of success and bravery in carrying out numerous military operations during the war and a segment of that has been narrated in the book.

The initiative to publish the book was tak-en after the success of another book named Muktijuddhe EPR (BGB) Er Obodan, which was unveiled marking the BGB Day 2015.

Distributed by National Book Centre, Muktijuddhe EPR (Bortoman BGB) is avail-able at the stalls of Apan Prakash, and Pial Printing and Publications at Amar Ekushey Book Fair. l

Chief justice: All judges should follow code of conductn Tribune ReportChief Justice SK Sinha yesterday expressed hopes that the incumbent and retired judges who enjoy state facilities would abide by all norms and values.

He made the comment when retired High Court judge Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury appeared before the Supreme Courts Ap-pellate Division on behalf of convicted war criminal Mir Quasem Ali.

A ve-member bench of Appellate Division, headed by the chief justice, held hearing on the war criminals appeal against his death penalty for the second day yesterday.

During the hearing, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam informed the court that Justice Nozrul was still using the Judges Lounge, where he unethically discussed the case with other lawyers.

The chief justice then said he hopes that all retired judges would abide by the code of conducts.

He added that retired judges of the High Court division have the opportunity to be a counsel in a case at the Appellate Division, as

this has been a long-standing practice.Justice Nozrul retired on December 10 last

year.Meanwhile, after hearing arguments from

Quasems lawyer SM Shajahan, the Appellate Division xed next Monday for further hear-ing in the appeal by the war criminal.

Quasem Ali, a commander of al-Badr in Chittagong during the war, led the appeal challenging his death penalty for his crimes against humanity during the Liberation War, citing 181 reasons for his acquittal on all the charges.

He was sentenced to death by the Inter-national Crimes Tribunal 2 on November 2, 2014, after it found him guilty on 10 charges of abducting, con ning and torturing people during the war.

The tribunal handed down death penalty on two charges for killing seven people, in-cluding one Jasim Uddin, after abduction. He was also awarded a total of 72-year impris-onment on the eight other proven charges of abduction, conspiracy and planning.

Quasem, a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Central Executive Council is known to be the key nancier of Jamaat. l

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016News 7

DT

Gulshan-Banani-Baridhara Lake development progresses at snails pacen Abu Hayat MahmudA development project for the Gulshan-Ba-nani-Baridhara Lake in Dhaka is progressing ponderously as the capitals development authority Rajuk has been facing erce oppo-sition from land grabbers.

The three-year plan, which aims to im-prove and beautify the lake at a cost of Tk4.10 crore, was approved by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council on July 6, 2010.

Rajuk o cials said the project was sched-uled to begin in July 2010 and end by June 2013. However, the development authority has failed to make signi cant headway in the last ve years due to repeated interventions by the land grabbers. Rajuk has resumed the eld works recently.

When contacted, the projects Director Monowarul Islam said they would go ahead with the development work. It will be car-ried out alongside land reclamation. We will take legal action against anyone who will try to thwart the development work, he told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

He hoped the development work would be completed by the end of 2018.

Workers were seen recovering parts of the encroached lake near the bridge at Kemal Atartuk Avenue in Banani yesterday. Earlier, Rajuk o cials said they were yet to recover about 11 acres of land in the adjoining area of Gulshan-Baridha Lake because of protests and litigation by occupiers.

Moreover, the development authority is yet to acquire 69.14 acres of land of which 23.58 acres are owned by the BTCL and 23.58 acres are publicly owned.

According to the project plan, a road will be built to connect the Gulshan Lake site with Hatirjheel. Starting at Baridhara Circle, the road will end at Hatirjheel Police Plaza Concord, passing Mariam Tower, Shahajad-

pur and Badda.Some of the link roads and eight bridges

inside the project will be extended for better connectivity, and sidewalks will be built by the lakeside. Recreational facilities will be set up at di erent spots in adjoining areas of

the lake. Driveways, footpaths, walkways and viewing decks are also included in the plan.

Rajuk o cials said the High Court in May 2006 directed authorities to stop grabbers from lling up the Gulshan Lake. Later, in an order in 2009, the High Court asked Ra-

juk to restore the original lake by evicting encroachers.

In April 2012, the High Court directed the government to demolish all buildings erect-ed on illegally occupied sites on the Gulshan Lake in 15 days. l

Work on Gulshan-Banani-Baridhara Lake in the capital has resumed recently after several years disruption. The photo taken from Gulshan area yesterday shows a buldozer removing earth from a portion of the lake SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

BCL committee at CU suspended following clashes n CU CorrespondentThe central committee of ruling partys stu-dent wing Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) has asked to stop all activities of the commit-tee of Chittagong University (CU) unit BCL until further notice following clashes.

Following the clashes, the central com-mittee also asked the CU BCL unit president Alamgir Tipu and general secretary HM Fazle Rabbi Sujon to explain about their role in the clashes.

General Secretary of BCL central commit-tee Jakir Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune that the central committee took the decision to avert any untoward incident at the educa-tional institution.

Leaders and activists Sixty Nine group attacked the supporters of another faction Bijoy at Suhrawardi dormitory in the early hours of yesterday.

Sixty Nine faction is being led by CU BCL president Alamgir Tipu while Bijoy group is being led by general secretary Fazle Rabbi Sujon. Alamgir Tipu is loyal to Chittagong

Awami League General Secretary AJM Na-sir Uddin while Sujon is blessed by Awami League city unit President ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury.

Police and residential students said at least ve rooms of Suhrawardi dormito-ry104, 105, 106, 107 and 110 controlled by Bijoy group were vandalished and ransacked during the Wednesdays melee. However, the report of the injured persons could not be known.

On information, police and proctorial body had rushed to the spot, but the clashing groups managed to ee the spot before po-lices arrival, said O cer-in-Charge of Hath-azari police station Ismail Hossain.

On Tuesday, at least six persons were in-jured in a clash at Shah Amanat dormitory between groups of president and secretary.

Ali Azgar Chowhdhury, CU proctor, said: Following the incident CU authority formed a probe committee consisting ve-member headed by Professor Jasim Uddin of Forestry and Environmental Science Institute of CU while the committee asked to submit its re-

port by seven working days.Earlier, at least 30 people, including four

police o cials were injured in a factional clash on November 2, last while the rst in-take test for the 2015-2016 academic session was going on.

Following the clash, police arrested 40 BCL activists and recovered a large number of sharp weapons from BCL-dominated two dormitories Shahjalal and Shah Amanat. Police then led three cases against 235 BCL leaders and activists.

Making Alamgir Tipu and Sujon as pres-ident and secretary of CU unit BCL respec-tively, the two-member committee had been formed on July 20, last.

It is mentionable that Alamgir Tipu is an accused of CRB double murder case that led with Kotwali police station on 24 June, 2013 in Chittagong city. Fazly Rabbi Sujon is also an accused in another case led with Hath-azari police station in connection with trad-ing gun shots between two groups of BCL on September 27, 2014 at Shah Jalal dormitory, said police sources. l

Factory manager mugged in front of policen Our Correspondent, Narayanganj Assailants snatched Tk3.25 lakh from the manager of a factory in the presence of police in Narayanganj yesterday.

The victim, Jahirul Haque, 32, works as the manager of Fair Textile in Rupganjs Tarabat.

The crime was committed on the slope of Kanchpur bridge around 2pm, with witness-es saying police took no action to capture the perpetrators who sped away on two motor-bike.

O cer-in-Charge of Kanchpur highway police station Sheikh Shariful Islam said Ja-hirul withdrew the money from bank and was on his way to o ce when some four to ve people held him at gunpoint and took the money away.

They also red some blank shots. There were police near the scene but muggers com-mit such crimes very fast. We are probing if po-lice failed to take proper action, he added. l

News8DTTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Madrasa principal held for rape in Bogra n Our Correspondent, BograThe principal of a madarsa in Sonatala of Bogra district was arrested yesterday on charge of raping a female student.

Locals said Fazlul Karim, the principal of Sonatala Fazil Degree Madrasa told the girl, a second-year Alim student, to take rest in the common room of the second oor while she went to him to take the stipend money in the afternoon.

After-while, he entered the room where there was nobody around the common room. Hearing screaming of the girl, peon Shah Alam and o ce secretary Al Amin went to the spot and caught the principal red handed while he was molesting the girl.

They rescued the girl in critical condition and informed the police of the incident.

The police arrested the principal and sent

the girl to hospital for medical test.Abdul Motalib, o cer-in-charge of Sona-

tola police station, said on the basis of alle-gation of rape brought by the girl against the principal, they had arrested him.

The principal also denied the allegation and said it was a conspiracy against him.

Teachers, students and guardians of the madrasa brought out a procession demanding the exemplary punishment of the principal.

Vice-Principal Shah Jalal, teacher Mon-warul Islam, Babul Akter, Sha ul Alam, Abdul Mannan, Rezaul Karim and guardian Mahbub Alam Bulu addressed the function.

When contacted, Ahshan Habib, education o cer of the upazila, said they would take departmental action against the principal.

A case was led in this connection. l

Rape victims family threatened with dire consequences n FM Mizanur Rahaman, Chittagong A local councilor of Chittagong districts Patiya upazila has threatened the family of 17-year-old mentally challenged girl who was gang-raped in last year, to withdraw the case led against the rapists.

Mother of the mentally-challenged girl brought the allegation against Rupak Sen, councilor of Patiya no 2 union, at a press confer-ence held at Chittagong Press Club yesterday.

She said a group of six culprits had gang-raped her daughter storming into the house in absence of her family members on June 21, last.

Currently, the girl is eight-month preg-nant, added victims mother.

She stated that soon after the incident, a lo-cal in uential quarter tried to negotiate the mat-ter, but they did not agree. Then, they went to the Patiya police station for registering the case,

but police told them to le the case with court. With help of Nari Jogajog Kendra, an

NGO, the family al last could le a case with Chittagong Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal on January 4 this year.

Accused of the case are Pial Dey, 20, Emon Dey, 20 Jony Dey, 26, Sujon Dey, 22, Sajib Dey, 22, and Nayon Dey, 22.

She said although the case had been led a few days back, the rapists were moving freely.

They said we will not be able to harm them by ling the case as they have good con-nections with political high-ups, she said, adding that the criminals were following her elder daughter while she was going to college.

She urged authorities concerned to arrest the culprits to save them. O cer-in-Charge of Patiya police station Refayet Ullah could not be reached over phone despite several attempts by the Dhaka Tribune correspondent. l

But over the years, my mentors at Pathshala introduced me to di erent other types of images, urging us to be more experimental. Which made me change my mind about doing anything mainstream and pursue experimental themes.

Best advice you have ever gotten?It was from my father. He always told me that its more important to be a good human being than being a good photographer or a student.

Out of all the projects youve worked on, which is your most favourite one?A series that I worked on called Desperate Urbanisation. I think I was really able to express myself through this project.

Why photography?Because I am not good at anything else.

What roles, in your opinion, do artists play in the society?I think most artists enjoy expressing themselves through their artwork - what they are, how they feel, etc. But how that will be deciphered among his/her audience is entirely up to them.

I think every artist is responsible to represent, showcase, write or talk about whats happening in the world around us, depending on their line of work. The audience will decide what to make out of it.

How does it feel to have won the Samdani Art Award?I still didnt get a chance to catch my breath. I was announced the winner ve days ago, and it has been a roller-coaster ride since then. Being interviewed, being greeted by and meeting with big photographers, or even fans. Im still shocked.

Did you see it coming?No I didnt. Two of my close friends entered the competition as well, and I was almost certain that one of them will win. I was taken by surprise when they announced my name.

What other projects are there in the pipeline?I have done a series in Nepal, after the earthquake that I havent published yet. But hope to in the coming future. l

PHOTOS: RAJIB DHAR

Feature 9DT

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016

I think every artist is responsible to represent, showcase, write or talk about whats happening in the world around us, depending on their line of work. The audience will decide what to make out of it.

9 questions with this years Samdani Art Award winner

nKhan N MoushumiOut of 300 applicants and 13 nalists at this years Samdani Art Award, Rasel Chowdhury stole the show with his Railway Longings series.

Recently appointed as a contract photographer by the New York Times and Getty Images, the documentary photographer is also one of the seven founding members of the newly formed photographers foundation called Daagi Art Garage.

Out of his published projects, theres Desperate Urbanisation, which depicts the story of the Ganges and Before the End that shows a series of photos of the abandoned Panam Nagar in Sonargaon. His other project titled Railway Longings was featured in the exhibition at this years Samdani Art Award that tells the story of the changing landscapes along the railways and stations intertwined from Jamalpur to Mymensingh to Dhaka. This nostalgic series of brilliant photographs secured him the title of Samdani Art Award winner this year.

How did you stumble upon this journey of yours?I have always done photography but it was in 2008 when I decided to take it up as a profession.

How, do you think, your work has evolved over the years?When I got admitted in Pathshala South Asian Media Institute in 2008, I dreamt of being popular and wanted to follow the footsteps of the most distinguished photographers of the country and take photos like them - black and white with a hard contrast.

nShuprova Tasneem What made you choose the songs on your CD, and why in that order?Inheritance contains nine songs by Rabindranath Tagore, Atulprasad Sen and Kazi Nazrul Islam. It has been published by Impress Audio Vision in Bangladesh and is available at their outlets, as well as on iTunes, GooglePlay and Cd Baby. Even though my orientation has been in Rabindrasangeet, I have always wanted to broaden my horizons and take up new challenges. I think Atulprasads songs serve as a perfect bridge between Tagore and Nazrul and I have attempted to gradually build up my understanding and delivery of

those two genres. I thought having the songs in that order - rst Tagore, then Atulprasad, then Nazrul - would make the transition from one composer to another smoother and more pleasant for listeners, while allowing them to savour the unique genius of the musicians. This also places the composers in a chronological order (though Tagore outlived Atulprasad Sen by a few years) and its quite interesting to see the evolution of Bengali music through their work, to trace how each has de ned their own style and shaped the musical landscape.

I have consciously chosen songs which very typically represent each of the genres in order to celebrate their individuality Heriya shyamaloghono (Tagore) to Padmar dheure

(Nazrul) is a very broad canvas, stylistically. I didnt want listeners to feel disoriented.

What inspired you to make this album?I am incredibly fortunate that my rst album received an excellent response, particularly on social media, with tracks selling quite well on Amazon, iTunes and so on. Since working on that album, though, I had a long stretch at work without performing for a while, so I wanted to get back into music in a big way. I took a sabbatical from work to go to India and focus on my music. The opportunity to work on this album came up at that time and I grabbed it with both hands.

What does this album say about you what are you trying to convey to the audience? I see this album as a statement of my inheritance, one Im incredibly proud of, hence the name of the album. These tunes, these words are so intricately beautiful, so individual. I want to capture them, pass

them on to the next generation, just like our predecessors have to us. It takes the apathy of a single generation to lose these musical treasures forever. Let us not be that generation.

Did you also get involved in the musical arrangements? I have quite strong views about how I want my music to be presented! Sarod maestro Prattyush Banerjee, who arranged the music, has been somewhat of a mentor to me since I worked with him on my rst album, A Bloom in Vain and other songs. He is a musician I have a great deal of respect for who also knows my taste and my style well, so I was quite content to leave the arrangement largely to his judgement. Weve kept the soundscape quite traditional but have also used the guitar in some of the tracks. Im delighted with the result. It was a joy to work with Goutam Basu (sound engineer at Studio Vibrations) again and the rest of the musicians were truly amazing.

How does being a singer t into your work as political director of the TaxPayers Alliance in UK?With di culty! Looking after the media operation of a busy political pressure group means early mornings and late nights, which leaves me with very little time to practice and so I have to manage my time really carefully. Also, my work requires the constant use of my voice, be it at media discussions, interviews or simply speaking to the press, so the voice can get very tired. But I sing because I know no other way to be. It isnt really a choice for me!

What are you listening to right now?I am listening to Khairul Anam Shakils Nazrul compilation Benuka. Im hooked on the title song, Benuka o ke bajay. Its playing on a loop! That is how I listen to music, if something touches me Ill listen to it continuously for hours. It puts me in a trance.

What would you say to encourage people who are interested in becoming musicians but also have another profession like yourself?Its not easy, but dont lose heart. If you have music within you, nurture it. Itll see you through the darkest of nights and the loneliest of times. l

Feature10DTTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016

A statement of her inheritance

British-Bangladeshi musician Dia Chakravarty talks about her latest album and this generation not allowing our musical treasures to slip away

I am listening to Khairul Anam Shakils Nazrul compilation Benuka. Im hooked on the title song, Benuka o ke bajay. Its playing on a loop! That is how I listen to music, if something touches me Ill listen to it continuously for hours. It puts me in a trance.

INSIDE

Poor road safety is a national crisis. Road accidents kill an estimated 12,000 people in Bangladesh and injure many times more each year. BUET studies indicate fatality rates are over 85 deaths per 10,000 vehicles, one of the highest in the world.

Safety experts are right to criticise the draft road transport act for omitting recommendations for tougher nes and punishment for dangerous driving.

However, the biggest factor which exacerbates the careless driving which bedevils our roads is the lack of e ective enforcement of existing laws. It is bad driving habits more than poor tra c management and poor road conditions, which causes so many preventable accidents.

If existing rules were properly applied, accident rates would not be so high and the BRTAs stance that road accident cases have always been tried under the penal code would not seem so complacent.

Full enforcement of tra c rules and punishment for reckless driving is imperative to make a di erence. The BRTA has to end the impunity which allows drivers and vehicle owners to get away with careless and reckless driving. There needs to be zero tolerance for careless driving habits.

Many of the draft acts provisions, such as a points system to penalise drivers for o ences and more stringent licensing requirements are steps in the right direction. Fines and jail terms are certainly needed to deter o ences such as speeding, not using a seat-belt, or driving while using cell phones or while intoxicated.

Authorities need to apply lessons learned from countries where better civic education and use of technology such as speed cameras have played a big part in cutting accident rates and making roads safer.

E ective enforcement of tra c laws is key to improve driving standards and to stop preventable accidents on our nations roads.

Be heardWrite to Dhaka Tribune

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End the impunity which allows drivers to get away with careless and reckless driving

Enforce tra c laws properly to improve road safety

11DTEditorial

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016

The call of duty

COP21: Wins and losses for LDCsFor LDCs, then, the Paris Agreement wasnt a perfect deal, but acceptable under the circumstances. The ever-present issue of nancing remains tenuous, although pledges by the US, EU, and other developed countries to support LDCs with dedicated funds made the pill easier to swallow

PAGE 12

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The path to developmentThe concept of inclusive social development is anchored around the idea that balanced, sustainable development can only take place when development includes all (men, women, children, physically and mentally challenged or disabled) groups of people who collectively contribute to identify and address challenges, make decisions, and create opportunities

Perhaps this is the generation that wants to move more than 18 miles away from mom, perhaps because child-rearing can be accomplished in ways other than relying on grandparents-slash-nannies

BIGSTOCK

n Mikkel Funder

After a year in the shadow of terrorism, Paris shines bright again. The global climate deal provided a much-needed positive narrative for France and for the world. Nous sommes Paris now o ers a di erent meaning.

But some are more Paris than others. Like all such deals, the COP21 Agreement was the result of a power struggle, and the US, China, India, EU, and other big players made their mark. For the worlds poorest countries, the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the agreement could certainly have been better. But it wasnt a failure. Heres a run-down of the wins and losses on ve issues that were key for the LDC negotiation group at COP21:

How binding is the agreement? The LDCs are hit hard by climate change, and so wanted an agreement that was as legally binding as possible in limiting emissions from the major economic powers. The nal agreement is not binding when it comes to the individual national goals on which it is based. This is pretty much as expected, given the political situation in major powers such as the US.

Instead, the agreement sets down a binding mechanism to regularly review and raise the ambition in national plans over time, and establishes transparency mechanisms so that climate laggards can be named and shamed. The strategy behind this approach, which gained ground after the failed COP15 in Copenhagen, is based on the idea that the only way to solve super-complex negotiation situations is through gradual incremental change, where stake-holders are nudged in the right direction, step by step.

This is a risky approach, but perhaps the most realistic one. The LDCs seem to have accepted its inevitability. Giza Martin, chair of the LDC group, puts it like this: Its not the perfect deal, but its the best deal.

The 1.5 degreesAnother main goal for LDCs during the negotiations was to set the maximum global temperature increase at 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Few observers gave it much chance beforehand, but during the Paris negotiations it gradually gained support.

The nal agreement now aims to keep the temperature rise well below 2C, while pursuing e orts to keep them within 1.5C. The wording is vague and many climate scientists consider it unrealistic. It could also be seen as a fairly manageable trade-o for the big emitters, with convenient publicity e ects. But symbolically, it was an important victory for the countries that have largely been marginalised in previous negotiations.

In the public narratives of the conference, the fact that the 1.5C aim made it to the nal agreement is generally credited to a persistent push by the most climate vulnerable countries, including small island states, and African and Asian LDCs.

Financing for adaptationFinance is the bedrock of disagreement said Gambias minister of environment, Pa Ousman Jarju, during a LDC press conference before the deal was made. For the LDCs, nancing for adaptation to climate change is particularly important, but has long been the poor relation in the climate nance game. The LDCs gained modest ground here: Adaptation now features more strongly in the agreement than previously, and the main funds of importance to LDCs saw some replenishment (including the Least Developed Countries Fund, the Adaptation Fund, and the all-important Green Climate Fund).

However, the LDCs and the wider G77 group failed to pressure the developed countries signi cantly on the longer term aspects of global climate nancing. Some of the $100 billion annually that developed countries pledged in Copenhagen in 2009 has already been committed, and are being disbursed.

Developing countries failed to get a clear statement in the agreement that these funds should be new and additional to existing ODA. A proposal to discuss scaling up the funds above the $100bn was adopted, but not until prior to 2025 which is a good deal later than the LDCs had hoped for.

Loss and damageThis term covers losses that have already been incurred from climate change, such as displacement and loss of land and agricultural production as a result of rising

sea levels, oods, and droughts. Together with the small island states group, LDCs have been signi cant drivers in bringing the loss and damage topic to the table in the climate negotiations, seeking a mechanism whereby such losses could be directly compensated by high emitters.

In past COPs, the notion has been hotly contested by the US and other developed countries, who cringe at the implications of a direct compensation and liability scheme. In the Paris agreement, the principle of loss and damage is not only included, but also fairly well-described, and consolidates a previously established body on the topic (the so-called Warsaw mechanism). Given the disputed nature of the topic, this is in itself a small victory for LDCs and other vulnerable countries.

However, the party stops there: The agreement also clearly states that loss and damage does not involve or provide a basis for any liability or compensation. This lets the developed countries o the hook, and shifts loss and damage towards a more traditional pledge-based system.

Recognition of LDCs special needsFinally, the LDCs argued for special consideration of their particularly di cult circumstances, ie being highly threatened by a climate situation they have not contributed to, and having limited resources to confront the problem. This demand is quite well re ected in the Paris agreement: It speci cally provides a lower reporting burden for LDCs on climate strategies, plans and actions, and mentions that the proposed transparency framework must recognise their situation -- a caveat one hopes will not be unduly exploited.

The agreement also urges developed countries to pay particular attention to LDCs when funding capacity development and technology transfers. The latter is a sometimes overlooked interest of the LDCs. While not being nave, LDCs increasingly see an opportunity to build their emerging energy systems with renewable energy.

For LDCs, then, the Paris Agreement wasnt a perfect deal, but acceptable under the circumstances. The ever-present issue of nancing remains tenuous, although pledges by the US, EU, and other developed countries to support LDCs with dedicated funds made the pill easier to swallow. From a cynical viewpoint, these contributions may have been fueled further by the concerns among Western powers over destabilisation and migration across the Sahel and Horn of Africa, where many LDCs are located.

Nevertheless, it would be wrong to view the gains for LDCs in the Paris agreement as purely orchestrated by the major powers. The timing was right, and the insistence and strategic maneuvering of LDCs and other vulnerable countries clearly played a role in securing the gains that they did, after all, achieve. l

Mikkel Funder is a senior researcher, Danish Institute for International Studies. This article was previously published on www.diis.dk.

Opinion12DTTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016

While COP21 was mainly a battle of the big players, it wasnt a failure for poor countries either REUTERS

For LDCs, then, the Paris Agreement wasnt a perfect deal, but acceptable under the circumstances. The ever-present issue of nancing remains tenuous, although pledges by the US, EU, and other developed countries to support LDCs with dedicated funds made the pill easier to swallow

The worlds poorest countries gained some ground in the Paris Agreement

COP21: Wins and losses for LDCs

Opinion 13DT

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016

n Shehtaz Huq

On December 23, 2015, The New York Times publishes the article, The Typical American Lives Only 18 Miles from Mom. Inwardly I thank myself that my mother peruses the web mostly to look for deals on bargain furniture and which cousin is currently in a relationship with which unsavoury individual on Facebook.

My parents also periodically threaten me with the prospect of them moving in with me, uprooting their second lives in Texas to start over here, in Rochester, with me. Two families, one roof.

The mythic joint family has ushered my generation into adulthood, hovering over our heads even as we grew up in single-family households with fathers who worked, and mothers who (mostly) held down the child-rearing fort and grandparents who occasionally visited but mostly tucked themselves away in musty homes of peeling paint and china cabinets.

Grandparents that we, the grandchildren, were forced to visit every few weeks, answering the call of duty that our parents

could not drown out. We bundled into cars and drove the hour, two hours, six hours, until we got to our nal destination, where payesh and polao awaited our ungrateful stomachs.

Sometimes our grandparents moved in, the pair diminished by one as our parents buried their parents. Grandparents shu ed around our homes with their prayer mats and prayer beads and starched white cotton attire. They slipped us crisp bank notes for Eid and crowed down the telephone when we brought home good grades. My grandson this, my granddaughter that. I have three doctors in this family now. My son is going to be the minister of agriculture someday.

Now, in the bubble of English-daily-reading Dhaka, the joint family of multiple patriarchs cowering under the thumb of a grand supreme patriarch is a thing of Hindi soap operas and family lore. Now siblings

and aunts and cousins are denizens of many countries, scattered over many continents, spanning the expanse from Gulshan to Dhanmondi. Now, maintaining family ties requires not only the semblance of true caring but also the commitment to hop into a car (or plane) and drive (or y) the distance.

Now, the generation that grew up speaking English in school (supposedly) and Bangla at home, grew up taking sel es on Facebook and courted other millennials,

boldly, parading relationships on social media, is slouching towards adulthood.

With it comes the inevitability of ageing parents, parents who pushed their kids into English medium schools perhaps without anticipating the hybrid breed theyd heralded, a breed that eats phuchka but also wants to be free, make ones own choices, live ones own lives.

These children sometimes say no. These children sometimes lie about being pre-med when really theyre English majors. Sometimes these children fumble over their duty, to care and nod and obey and avoid eye contact when their parents are chastising them, to be willing to relocate or make room without a second thought for a parent.

Perhaps this is the generation that wants to move more than 18 miles away from mom, perhaps because child-rearing can be accomplished in ways other than relying on grandparents-slash-nannies.

Perhaps the wanderlust is equal parts the desire for physical as well as emotional distance, equal parts the lure of freedom and the call of duty. l

Shehtaz Huq is a teacher based in Rochester, NY.

Perhaps this is the generation that wants to move more than 18 miles away from mom, perhaps because child-rearing can be accomplished in ways other than relying on grandparents-slash-nannies

As the generation that grew up on social media slouches into adulthood, the nature of family ties is changing

The call of duty

A desire for physical and emotional distance

Long Form14DTTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016

The path to developmentThe poor and marginalised should have a chance to live and thrive, free from abuse and exploitation. This is the concluding part of yesterdays long form.n Md Abu Syed

Aligning and integration of all the major planned or potential infrastructure projects would facilitate distribution development bene ts to the peoples of di erent regions. For example, enhanced capacity and e cient ICT-based land, court, and case management systems could save man-hours which can be utilised for other productive purposes now being wasted in nding labyrinthine ways to get justice.

The second issue is the quality of the regulatory environment and of wider economic governance. Red tape, corruption, and the di culties of doing business are key challenges facing Bangladesh. These weaknesses directly harm competitiveness, distort investment decisions, and deter FDI. The introduction of ICT and transparent digital ICT-based service delivery system at all levels of governance would surely reduce red-tape and corruption while enhance accountability as well.

Third, and directly pertinent to inclusiveness, is the extent to which production is labour-intensive and the economy is able to absorb unemployed and underemployed workers. As a next step, a regional policy is needed to address east-west di erences and support the Chittagong Hill Tracts, riverine char land, and remote coastal islands along with targeted regeneration and poverty reduction schemes.

Inclusive social development in Bangladesh for the post-2015 agenda In addition, advances have occurred in measurement to focus on the joint distribution of deprivation, given that people often face multiple dimensions at the same time, and to understand the intra-household distribution of resources, which is particularly critical with regard to social development. Poor people and marginalised groups are experiencing the e ects of climate change and environmental degradation on their circumstances and livelihoods, while these processes, in turn, deepen poverty and increase marginalisation and vulnerability.

The concept of inclusive social development is anchored around the idea that balanced, sustainable development can only take place when development includes all (men, women, children, physically and mentally challenged or disabled) groups of people who collectively contribute to identify and address challenges, make decisions, and create opportunities. Overall, the quality of growth must be gauged by how much marginalised populations are enabled to

enjoy e ective coverage of key social services that de ne their rights to live, thrive, and be safe from abuse, exploitation, and violence.

Inclusive governance Inclusive governance also is essential to ensure e ective policy development in areas vital for underpinning sustainable development, such as addressing climate

change and environmental degradation, or managing population size. Inclusive governance likewise is critical for the development of innovative social policy responses, including sound health, nutrition, and educational provision, and e ective social protection.

It also means that governance institutions and policies are accessible and accountable to marginalised groups, providing equal access to public services. In all, inclusive governance occurs when the rule of law is followed, access to justice is a orded, and discrimination is addressed. For Bangladesh as elsewhere, three central aspects of inclusive governance are: a) Accountable public institutions that deliver public services via digital ways to all, especially the marginalised and poor, b) participation and representation of all people in the democratic process, and c) rule of law and respect for human rights.

Corruption, undue in uence, violence, and fear, each undermine the rule of law, national stability, and prosperity. Rule of law institutions and services, linking human rights and post-2015 goals, would

seek to deliver sustainable and inclusive development that supports the realisation of human rights, particularly for the marginalised.

Integrating climate change issues into SDGsClimate change has di erential impacts on agriculture, sheries, and water sector in di erent geographic regions of Bangladesh. Any climate-induced change in physical processes in a given region of the country would certainly change the bio-physical conditions that decide/regulate livelihood practices in that particular region.

In the meantime, enough evidence has been generated to show that climate change is already happening, and poor/marginalised people are the most a ected by the climate-induced events. It adversely a ects the livelihood, economic activities, and environment of that region, which make it relatively vulnerable compared to other regions of the country. If climate change issues are not taken into account or integrated into national and local development planning, in the future, all development achievement may be jeopardised, or even lost by a single climate-induced event.

Hence, it is imperative to prioritise sectors in each region, each section of population along with their development challenges, climate related pressures, risks and vulnerabilities, and probable adaptation and mitigation. While identifying and prioritising the sector-wise adaptation options and evaluating their appropriateness and e ectiveness in terms of lessening climate change impacts from the grass-root level to national level opinion of local concerned population, stake-holders and civil society need to be accommodated as well.

Recommendationsl Attainment of SDGs will require a strong and e ective institutional mechanism involving all stake-holders including

public representatives (central and local), government (executive and bureaucracy), private sector, civil society, knowledge community (academic and non-academic), and development partnersl Bangladesh government needs to decide who should lead the process in SDGs. Under the leadership of the Prime Ministers O ce, an inter-ministerial body may be formed for regular national level review of achievement against planned targets l Alternatively, a separate institution for implementation of SDGs-related development programs needs to be in place with clear mandates of its activities and auditing systemsl The System of Environmental Economic Accounts (SEEA) was developed to respond to this need at the UN level, and represents the integrated statistical framework to measure the environment and its relationship with the economy and societyl The national budgetary process needs also to be informed by the SDGs and resources allocation needs to be made judiciously across di erent sectors and geographic regions l Adoption of a common conceptual framework in line with international standards and integration of environment statistics within the national statistical system requires a systems-wide approach to align the statistical production process for di erent sectoral statistics, and reconcile institutional arrangements for the production of an integrated information setsl Bangladesh may use the COP21 Paris agreement as an opportunity for negotiation at international fora. Climate agreement and resources (if made available) can be utilised in adaptation and mitigation, keeping climate change and sustainable development in focus. l

Md Abu Syed is Fellow, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS).

The concept of inclusive social development is anchored around the idea that sustainable development can only take place when development includes all groups of people who collectively contribute to address challenges, and create opportunities

We must keep our eyes on the target BIGSTOCK

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Business18DTTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Dhaka WASA has recently launched a pilot project to monitor and control deep tubewells with computerised SCADA system, said a press release. Danish Ambassador in Dhaka, Hanne Fugl Eskjaer attended the launching ceremony as chief guest while MD of Dhaka WASA, Engr Taqsem A Khan presided over the ceremony

Rupali Bank has recently held an outreach programme on Task of a Manager at its Khulna Divisional O ce, said a press release. The banks general manager, Bishnu Pada Choudhury was present at the programme as a chief guest

Southeast Bank Limited has recently signed an agreement with Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) to form strategic partnership for Renewable Energy and Infrastructure projects. The banks managing director, Shahid Hossain and Mahmood Malik, executive director and CEO of IDCOL signed the agreement

National Bank Limited has recently commenced a foundation course for its junior o cers. The banks deputy managing director, ASM Bulbul was present at the inaugural programme of the course

Banglalink has recently signed an agreement with Air Galaxy Ltd, GSA-Bangkok Airways PCL in order to provide Banglalink Priyojon customers with 10% discounts on base fare of Bangkok Airways till 24th March 2016. Head of CBM-B2C, marketing at Banglalink, Md Mahbubul Alam Bhuiyan and chief commercial o cer of Air Galaxy Ltd, GSA- Bangkok Airways, Reza Amin were present at the signing ceremony

CORPORATE NEWS

NBR misses revenue collection target by Tk12,000 cr in Jul-Jann Tribune ReportNational Board of Revenue has missed to achieve its revenue collection target in the rst seven months of this scal year. The shortfall stood at Tk12,003 crore during the period.

However, the collection saw an average growth of 13.35% in the seven months.

Although the board has been witnessing an upward average growth trend in revenue collection, it has mobilised only Tk79,165 crore in the July-January against the target of Tk91,168 crore, the o cial data shows.

All three wings - income tax, value added tax and customs - have failed to reach their respective targets. Income tax wing missed target by the largest amount of other two wings, which is Tk5,452 crore, followed by Vat wing Tk5,060 crore and customs wing Tk1,491 crore.

The NBR usually collects 35%-40% reve-nue in the rst six months of any scal and the rest 60%-65% in the rest six months.

According to NBR o cials, the government earlier used to x the higher revenue targets in the last six months of any scal year.

But from this scal the monthly average revenue targets were xed for 12 months equally and this could have led to the miss-ing of target.

O cials attributed the shortfall in target

to sluggish overall economic activities, poor performance by large businesses including banks, telecom, manufacturing and services, and fall in consumption by consumers.

The NBR is assigned to mobilise Tk176,371 crore in the current scal year with a 29% growth from last scal.

Though the economists termed the target ambitious, the NBR is still quite con dent about achieving the target by the end of the year.

The NBR hopes that the revenue collec-tion achievement will be easier if progress of Annual Development Programme (ADP) implementation becomes satisfactory, ex-port income rises, import ow increases and the investment in the country sees a further growth.

NBR has taken up a number of initiatives including resolving pending cases through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), ex-pansion of the tax base by identifying growth centres through partnership with stakehold-ers and through the ongoing tax survey. l

Income tax wing missed target by the largest amount of other two wings, which is Tk5,452 crore, followed by Vat wing Tk5,060 crore and customs wing Tk1,491 crore

Stocks end at after wide uctuationsn Tribune ReportStocks continued to end at for the second straight session after wide uctuations yes-terday.

Investors opted for short-term prof-it booking mostly on mini and micro caps stocks, but modest rally in heavy weight tel-ecommunications o set losses.

After moving between red and green throughout the day, the benchmark index DSEX ended slightly 3 points up to 4,573.

The Shariah index DSES rose nearly 2 points to 1,113. The blue chip comprising in-dex DS30 was 1 point up to 1,749.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index CSCX closed at 8,569, rising 14 points.

Trading activities were sluggish despite im-provement as the DSE turnover stood at Tk362 crore, up 7.6% over the previous session.

Food and allied sectors su ered most, tumbling 1.7%, driven by the tobacco man-ufacturing company BATBC that shed 2.4%.

Almost every other sector ended at with bank, non-banking nancial institutions, power and food and allied falling 0.3%, 0.05%, 0.3% and 1.5% respectively. l

Biz Info 19DT

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016

Platinum Hotels Cats Eye Co ee Republic Bangladesh

Pearson Edexcel

| couples packages | | contests | | brews |

| ceremony |

Celebrate Valentines Day this year at Platinum Hotels with its four special couples packages. Platinum Grand, at Banani 11, is o ering a romantic getaway with a package of overnight stay and complimentary dinner on its rooftop pool, along with a breakfast for two as well, all for Tk25,000. l

Cats Eye has begun their Cutest Couple contest where three lucky doubles shall be able to win a gift voucher worth Tk5,000. The contest duration shall proceed from February 10 till February 16.

Participate by clicking the Cutest Couple app, reading the terms and conditions and uploading your cutest couple picture. A submission form must be lled along with a caption about the picture. Once nalised, share it to win the grand prize.l

Co ee Republic Bangladesh served Artisan Co ee since it began its journey in December 2013 at the heart of 54/A Gulshan Avenue. Its wide range of culinary food items make every dish di erent as it is served on the table. For food lovers, the bass baba burger, pizza supremo, chicken mexicana and optimus prime are highly recommended. l

Pearson Edexcel, one of the largest awarding body in the UK and a part of Pearson, in collaboration with the British Council, conducted its forth Academic Award Ceremony for the students who achieved outstanding results in their International GCSE and A Level examinations in 2015. The ceremony was held in the Hall of Fame, Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC), Dhaka and more than 1,500 attendees, including students, teachers, parents and distinguished guests, attended the event.

There were 589 awardees who received the Edexcel award for high achievement this year, in four di erent categories. l

Six Seasons Hotel Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden

| dining experience | | celebration |

On February 14, the rooftop Sky Pool Restaurant will o er exclusive candle light couples prix xe dinner for Tk5,999 inclusive. Not to be outdone, the 13th oor Bunka Restaurant will o er a special Valentines all-you-can-order dinner starting at Tk2,999 per person.

Call 01987009810 for details.l

Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden has celebrated their 10 years of operations, o ering a at 10% discount at all F&B outlets on February 11 to February 13. l

Hotel Sarina| meals |

Hotel Sarina promises a special romantic day with a Valentine bu et lunch at Summer elds, dinner at The Elite and an exotic candle light set dinner at Risotto, which includes a live violin performance.

Hotel Sarinas guests can buy one to get one complementary meal, the price being Tk2,350 (all inclusive) for lunch, and Tk2,850 (all inclusive) for dinner.

Along with this arrangements, guests can also participate in a sel e contest with lovely backgrounds at the Sarina Lobby Lounge from February 11 till 14. l

3 Dragons at Pearl | dinner o er |

3 Dragons at Pearl has introduced a valentines couple dinner o er starting at Tk4,500.

The full meal shall consist of hot and sour soup with shiitake mushrooms, tofu skin and bamboo shoot black fungus infused with pickled chilli vinegrette as a starter. The main shall include whole lobster with tru e oil, Beijing style shredded beef with hoison sauce, hui gou basa sh with fermented black beans and much more.

To conclude, a to ee banana with vanilla ice cream awaits as dessert. l

Downtime20DTTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

DILBERT

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 numberrepeating.

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAYS SOLUTIONS

CODE-CRACKER

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 1 represents D so ll D every time the gure 1 appears.You have two letters in the control grid to start you o . 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, ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

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CROSSWORD

ACROSS1 Dry (4)6 Spirit (3)7 Window glass (4)9 Halt (4)10 Mannequin (5) 11 Stair handrail post (5) 12 Snow runner (3)14 Drunkard (5)17 Footwear (5)20 Land measure (3) 21 Duck with soft down (5)23 Place of refuge (5)25 Labyrinth (4)26 Soon (4)27 Help (3)28 Narrate (4)

DOWN 1 Fix a tax (6)2 Seemingly mocked by fate (6) 3 Deceive (4)4 Bundle of notes (3) 5 Snakelike sh (3)7 Sport (4)8 At no time (5)10 Encountered (3)13 Mohammedan scriptures (5)15 Procession (6)16 Revoke (6)18 Eager (4)19 Wrongdoing (3)22 Send out (4)23 Poor actor (3)24 Solemn promise (3)

SUDOKU

INSIDE

21DTWorld

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016

US Supreme Court blocks Obama carbon emissions planThe US Supreme Court on Tuesday delivered a major blow to President Barack Obama by putting on hold federal regulations to curb carbon dioxide emissions mainly from coal- red power plants, the centerpiece of his administrations strategy to combat climate change. PAGE 23

Draft Indian anti-tra cking bill raises penalty for o endersA new bill being drafted in India aims to curb the steep rise in human tra cking by unifying several existing laws, raising the penalties for o enders and providing for victims rehabilitation, government o cials said on Wednesday.

PAGE 24

Fish, other mosquitoes now warriors in Zika battleWith larva-chomping sh and genetical-ly modi ed insects, Latin Americans are deploying legions of little helpers to destroy mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus in the worlds latest mass health scare. PAGE 23

AFTERMATH

Top takeaways from the New Hampshire primaryn AFP, Washington, DC

In July, Hillary Clinton o ered