Archive for June 2008
Lively campaign starts for Rajshahi city polls
Probable candidates from the Awami League and BNP-Jamaat coalition too passing busy days meeting people as part of their election campaign even though the major parties are still dragging feet from taking part in the elections.
Several of them, speaking in return for anonymity, said, their parties would soon understand the necessity of taking part in the elections, otherwise, they would join the polls independently.
At least 17 probable candidates from seven political parties, including two newly formed ones, have already informed newsmen that they are keen to take part in the fray.
Workers’ Party’s politburo member Fazle Hossain Badsha is seen to be enjoying advantageous position in the present situation.
“One can call it electioneering, but I am meeting people as usual As far as I know, I am the candidate of Awami League-led 14-party combine,” said Fazle Hossain Badsha.
Badsha, contesting the last RCC polls with Rajshahi Nagorik Committee ticket and support by Awami League, alleged polls rigging for his defeat to Minu in marginal votes and his case filed for the alleged poll rigging is still under trial.
Rajshahi city Awami League Secretary AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, an aspirant in the mayoral contest and confident of getting support of the party’s central leaders, told this correspondent, “I will take part in the election. I am visiting wards on foot everyday and exchanging compliments with electorates.”
City AL President Maksudul Haque Dulu said he decided to vie for the election long ago and he is working to that end.
For BNP, facing the local government race is quite difficult as it has dipped into a leader crisis following imprisonment of former Rajshahi mayor Mizanur Rahman Minu over conviction in an extortion case.
However, eight persons from the party are intending to contest the polls.
In Minu’s absence, the party’s central office secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi who was silent during BNP-Jamaat coalition rule, started working for the mayoral fray long ago.
Many party insiders believe that Rizvi has potential but he will have to face many emerging leaders.
Rajshahi city Jubo Dal President Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul was ahead among other BNP men who are willing to vie.
Names of district BNP’s former general secretaries — Enamul Haque and Quamrul Monir, organising secretary Alauddin, former women BNP stalwart Jahan Panna, fugitive former BNP lawmaker Nadim Mostafa’s brother Shahid Hasan, BNP adherent Shahin Shawkat are being heard for the mayoral post.
If the central leaders of BNP decide to go for the city corporation election, local BNP might see disagreement for the mayoral post with Jamaat-e-Islami.
“If four-party takes part in the polls, I will be a candidate,” said Rajshahi city Jamaat Ameer Ataur Rahman said, claiming that he was leading the local four-party alliance in Minu’s absence.
Jamaat’s city committee assistant general secretary Abul Kalam Azad and senior leader Siddik Hussain are also intending to contest.
Jatiya Party (Ershad) city unit President Durul Huda said he is hopeful of winning in the RCC polls.
Ferdous Ahmed Qureshi’s newly formed Progressive Development Party (PDP) has already announced its mayoral candidate — local PDP convenor Raihanur Rahman — through a tele-conference on Saturday.
Abdul Matin Khan, another aspirant for the mayoral post, is electioneering under the banner of Amra Rajshahi Basi.
Many new faces are also likely to come forward following leadership crisis and internal feuds in different political parties.
Nomination Race in City Polls: Grassroots rivalries come to the fore; AL, BNP in disarray as central leaders stay silent
Alongside intra-party disputes, rivalry between prospective candidates within alliances too is obvious. In four divisional headquarters, AL and BNP leaders seeking nomination for mayoral elections brace themselves for challenges coming from components of the 14-party and four-party alliances.
In Rajshahi, dispute between the Workers Party politburo member Fazle Hossain Badsha and city AL General Secretary AHM Khairuzzaman Liton for mayor nomination has already grown intense.
As many as eight candidates in BNP have begun informal election campaign for the mayoral post. Of them, party insiders said, Central Office Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi who has long been working for the mayoral fray has a better chance.
In Rajshahi, Sylhet and Barisal, Jamaat-e-Islami leaders are going to mount serious challenges to BNP candidates seeking alliance nominations.
Toll paying commuters suffer as Natore-Sirajganj road rundown in five years
A truck opts for the adjoining lane to avert the jerks on the main road of Dhaka-Rajshahi Highway in Tarash union in Sirajganj district…STAR
Pitch and carpeting on the 55-km road started to be dislocated and large craters appeared within one year of its inauguration in May 2003, locals and Roads and Highways Department (RHD) officials said, adding that some 27km of the highway is now hard for vehicles to ply.
In five years, the road authorities earned over Tk 12.70 crore as toll with around Tk 71,000 daily average collection from movement of 2000 vehicles. But the road with large potholes, craters and ditches is now causing one-hour sufferings to passengers from and to the Capital.
In the rainy seasons, the situation turns worse as rainwater remains stagnant on the holes for days together.
Drivers have to struggle to avoid large potholes. At times, they use the adjoining lanes meant for use by rickshaws and vans.
The road also causes transport owners count additional money for repairing vehicles damaged due to plying the bad-shaped road.
“Panic grips me when I cross the road. The coaches may slip any time as they often move from one side to another to avoid ditches,” said Habibur Rahman, a regular commuter on the road.
It is difficult to tolerate such risks and sufferings after paying toll, said Abdur Razzak, the driver of a coach on Dhaka-Rajshahi road.
The road from Bonpara in Natore to Nalka-Hatikumrul of Sirajganj district is the first among two toll roads in the country, the other being the Ashulia road that provides a link with the western approach of Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge.
Constructed at the cost of over Tk 337 crore in four years, the road Running through the Chalan Beel reduced distance between the capital and Rajshahi by 75 kilometres.
Two local construction firms — Mir Akhter Group and Monem Ltd and two Chinese farms — China Road and Bridge Company (CRBC) and China Harbour constructed the 55-kilometre road, sources in RHD said.
About 27 kilometres of the road, constructed by the Chinese firms, developed cracks and potholes while about nine kilometres have become totally unfit for vehicular movement, RHD officials said.
The officials attributed substandard work done by the four firms and poor maintenance for fund shortage for dilapidated condition of the road.
Two tenders have been floated for repairing the 27km road, they said, earlier occasional repair work failed to make any lasting solution of the problem.
Militants may regroup as 12 decisions unimplemented
There is a strong possibility that the militants still at large might mount fresh attacks. Their leaders behind bars might pass them instructions to that end, taking advantage of slow trial of the cases against them, observed intelligence officials.
Besides, they added, absence of motivational and reorientation programmes for over 500 detained militants, mostly operatives of banned Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Harkat-ul-Jihad al Islami (Huji), keeps alive the threat of militancy even though it has been on the wane for some time.
“Since there are no motivational programmes for the militants in jails, they might become sucked into militancy again on return to society after serving out terms. Not only that, they might try to brainwash the other inmates to join them,” said a top official of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), the elite crime busters who tore through the militant network and nabbed many militant leaders and activists.
Speaking in return for anonymity, he also said the laxity of the authorities could result in militants making a comeback.
Talking to The Daily Star recently, Rab Additional Director General Col Gulzar Uddin Ahmed acknowledged the risk.
Unity is must to face national challenges, says Dr Kamal
6 JMB militants get life for serial blasts
Rajshahi speedy trial tribunal Judge ATM Mesbauddoula convicted them for murder and sedition charges under Sections 302 and 120 (B) of Bangladesh Penal Code.
The judge also fined each convict Tk 10,000, in default of which they are to spend one more year of imprisonment.
Convicted Shahidullah Faruk Selim, Abul Kashem Tufan, Shakhawat Hossain Ziad and Hafez Ali Akbor Riaz were produced present on the court dock during the delivery of the verdict.
The other two convicts, Shafiullah Shahid and Hafijur Rahman Dalim, are absconding.
JMB militants orchestrated around 500 synchronised blasts across in all districts of the country but one, with a call for an Islamists’ Jihad on August 17 of 2005.
In Chapainawabganj, the blasts rocked Biswaroad crossing, Old Judge Court Bhaban, Mahananda bridge area, New Market and the DC’s office, and injured leaving three people –Moti Saha, Rabi Saha and rickshaw-puller Rabiul Islam.
Rabiul later succumbed to his injuries at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
Apart from a case for serial blasts, Sub inspector Abdullah Al Masud Chowdhury of Chapainawabganj Sadar police station also lodged a murder case in this regard.
Detective Branch police inspector M Hafizul Islam submitted the charge sheet in the murder case on November 14, 2005 accusing 10 people in both cases.
Later on October 11, 2006, he submitted a supplementary charge sheet in the murder case relieving Abdullah Al Mamun Nasim from murder charges.
JMB chief Shayakh Abdur Rahman, other Majlish-e sura members Siddikul Islam Bangla Bhai and Abdul Awal were also accused in the charges, but they were later relieved from the case after they were executed in 2006.
Meanwhile, the six militants and their other accomplice Abdullah Al Mamun Nasim were awarded life-term in the serial blasts case, by the same court, on January 31.
40 top outlaws still at large despite hunt for their heads
Sources say these outlaws are still active and involved in various crimes, mostly extortion and murder, in the 10 districts.
They say the leaders are also trying to reorganise their own outfits and gangs to increase strength before the local government and national elections.
The outlaw leaders are also trying to recruit new cadres and allegedly maintaining close contact with some top political leaders including former lawmakers. The sources say these political leaders had earlier used outlaws to manipulate polls and establish supremacy in the districts of Kushtia, Meherpur, Chuadanga, Jhenidah, Magura, Jessore, Narail, Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira.
Of the top criminals, all are from outlawed parties except four gang leaders. The outlawed parties are four factions of Purba Banglar Communist Party — (PBCP-ML), Janajuddha, PBCP-Red Flag and PBCP-Communist War; Biplabi Communist Party (BCP), New Biplabi Communist Party (NBCP), Gono Bahini (GB), Gono Mukti Fouz (GMF), Banglar Communist Party, Socialist Party (SP), Biplabi Anuragi, Chinnamu Communist Party (CCP) and Sharbahara People’s March.
The sources say the underground parties have over 5,000 cadres still active in the region who carry equal number of firearms.
Eight top outlawed party leaders and a gang group boss are still active in Kushtia. They are Azibor Rahman of GMF and his second-in-command Mandar, GMF chief Sahin and three ‘regional commanders’ — Mukul, Tikka and Bakhtiar…
Another Lged Sham: Bridge built without approach road
Janajuddha founder killed in ’shootout’
The Rab recovered huge arms and ammunition including one AK47, books and leaflets of the banned outfit and also arrested Tapan’s elder brother Akash.
Operatives of the outlawed communist outfits see the death as another blow to their two-decade underground “armed struggle” in the south and northern regions to establish socialism after the death of Mofakkar Hossain, founder of Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP-ML), in 2004.
Mofakkar was killed in ‘crossfire’ when Rab members came under attack in Kushtia on December 17, 2004.
Janajuddha founder killed in ’shootout’
The Rab recovered huge arms and ammunition including one AK47, books and leaflets of the banned outfit and also arrested Tapan’s elder brother Akash.
Operatives of the outlawed communist outfits see the death as another blow to their two-decade underground “armed struggle” in the south and northern regions to establish socialism after the death of Mofakkar Hossain, founder of Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP-ML), in 2004.
Mofakkar was killed in ‘crossfire’ when Rab members came under attack in Kushtia on December 17, 2004.
