Khaleda Zia's BNP plans 'Long March' on Tipaimukh dam issue

UNB, Dhaka, 2 August : Bangladesh's opposition leader and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia said her party would launch bigger programmes, including long march, at appropriate time against Indian government's move to construct Tipaimukh dam over the common river Barak.
“We will call people in time… still the time has not come. At that time people will come to street in protest against the Tipaimukh dam project from Teknaf to Tetulia and Tetulia to Zakiganj,” she said at a meeting.
Khaleda was addressing the meeting when a delegation of Tipaimukh Dam Prevention Committee (TDPC) and Sylhet Division Development Action Council (SDDAC) led by TDPC Chief Coordinator Abed Raja met her at her Gulshan Office in the evening.

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Andolan Local flagged off In Sigur by Rly Min Mamata

Mamata wants Singur land for Railways mega-project

Singur, 2 August : Indian Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Sunday said her ministry was interested in setting up a national project on the site of the now abandoned Tata Nano factory in this rural belt of West Bengal.

"We want industry to come up in Singur. If the land which has been taken for industry in Singur is handed over to the railways by the centre, then we will set up a national project there," Banerjee said while flagging off the Singur-Howrah 'Andolan Local' train here. She said the railways would implement the project through a joint venture. "We will follow the public-private-partnership model. We are very much interested in such a venture."
The introduction of the suburban train covering a 34-km distance from here to Howrah is the Trinamool Congress chief's way of paying tribute to the anti-land acquisition movement of Singur that forced auto major Tata Motors to shift its Nano car factory to Sanand in Gujarat last year. "This train is a recognition to those who participated in the anti-land acquisition movement in Singur," she said.
"Six bighas of this land is in Singur. This will be used for setting up an industrial cluster under the Kishan Vishan project, which will help farmers sell their products like potatoes, flowers and vegetables from outlets on this land. This will also create employment in Singur," she said. Mamata also inaugurated a computerised train reservation centre here, said Rs.50 lakh would be spent for making Singur a model station. န Photos : Sanjay Bhaduri

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"Celebrating Life" Festival begins

Rangamati, 2 August : Celebrating Life Festival, jointly organised by The Daily Star and Standard Chartered Bank, began in the hilly town of Rangamati Today. The festival features a concert and screening of films.
A daylong screening of films and documentaries, which won prizes in the Celebrating Life-2008, a composite competition, was held at Rangamati Government College. The concert featuring patriotic songs and others popular numbers will be held at the auditorium of Rangamati Tribal Culture Institute (TCI). A roundtable on culture and heritage will also be held at the conference room of the District Sports Association today.
Editor and Publisher of The Daily Star Mahfuz Anam, Chief of Chakma Circle Raja Devasish Roy and Chairman of CHT Regional Council Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma alias Shantu Larma are expected to attend the roundtable.

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WB pledges $130m for renewable energy in Ban'desh
Dhaka, 2 August : The World Bank has approved a $130 million credit to Bangladesh to increase access to electricity in rural areas through local renewable energy projects.
"Investing in grid electricity alone will not realise the Government of Bangladesh's goal of universal access to electricity by 2020," Robert L Floyd, acting WB country director for Bangladesh, said in a statement Saturday. The project will provide financing for projects such as biomass and biogas power plants, solar water pumps for irrigation and solar mini-grids, said the statement. The credit is an additional financing to the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development Credit, a project since 2003, which has connected 600,000 consumers to the electricity grid.
The credit also funded constructed of around 8,500 kilometres of new distribution lines, and provided 320,000 consumers with Solar Home Systems.

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Kuwait Air's Plane makes emergency landing at ZIA
Dhaka, 2 August : A Kuwait Airways flight with 229 passengers on board made an emergency landing at the Zia International Airport on Sunday immediately after taking off with engine trouble.
The director of the airport, wing commander M Saeedul Hasan Khan, told reporters that the engine problem might have developed from a collision with a bird. No-one was injured in the incident, though, Khan added. Traffic officer of the airline Mahmudul Hassan said, "One engine of the plane developed complications after a bird came in contact with the plane."
The plane had left for Kuwait at 7:38am(BDST) but returned and landed immediately.

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