Kolkata, 15 March : West Bengal government today said it would take action against Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) for allegedly defying fire service regulations in a temporary gallery at the Eden Gardens during an IPL match."CAB has shown little respect for government rules and regulations during yesterday's IPL match at the Eden Gardens where the temporary gallery did not have sanction of the Fire Services department," state Fire Services Minister Pratim Chatterjee told reporters here. Stating that the matter was serious, the minister said it could not be supported. "I will not bow to any pressure." Chatterjee also threatened to lodge an FIR against CAB President Jagmohan Dalmiya for the alleged violation of norms.
CAB officials were not available for comment. The PWD had asked for some modifications to the temporary gallery to obtain a no-objection certificate. The gallery in between the under-construction Block B and the club house, is made of wood.
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Commerce Min Faruk Khan warns consumers right violators
Dhaka, 15 March : Bangladesh's Commerce Minister Faruk Khan on Monday warned of stern actions against the violators of consumers’ rights protection laws."The government will take punitive measures against market manipulators and food adulterators," the minister told journalists after a short visit to one of the capital’s biggest kitchen markets in Karwan Bazar on the occasion of the World Consumer Rights Day. He said a section of dishonest traders is adulterating foods, selling date expired products and cheating consumers in weight. They are also destabilising the prices of the basic commodities, the minister added.
He mentioned that some companies are manufacturing adulterated drugs to make a hefty profit and suggested people to contact him if such adulterated drug is found in markets so that actions can be taken against the manufacturing companies and persons responsible.
World Consumer Rights Day was first observed on 15 March, 1983 and has since become an important occasion for mobilising citizen action.
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Manipuri militant outfit KYKL's chief held in Darjeeling dist
Siliguri, 15 March : Three militants, including the chief of the outlawed Manipuri insurgent outfit Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), have been arrested from Darjeeling district, police said Monday.
According to police, N. Tomba alias Koireng, 57, the commander-in-chief of the KYKL, was arrested from Siliguri sub-division Sunday night. "We have arrested three militants including the commanding-in-chief of the KYKL. We have recovered one satellite phone, a laptop, two hard discs and some other electronic gadgets from them," Darjeeling police chief D.P. Singh said. He said Tomba operated his militant network from Kurseong sub-division in Darjeeling.
KYKL was formed in 1994 with an objective to 'rebuild' Manipuri society by cleansing it of all immoral activities.
Siliguri, 15 March : Three militants, including the chief of the outlawed Manipuri insurgent outfit Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), have been arrested from Darjeeling district, police said Monday.
According to police, N. Tomba alias Koireng, 57, the commander-in-chief of the KYKL, was arrested from Siliguri sub-division Sunday night. "We have arrested three militants including the commanding-in-chief of the KYKL. We have recovered one satellite phone, a laptop, two hard discs and some other electronic gadgets from them," Darjeeling police chief D.P. Singh said. He said Tomba operated his militant network from Kurseong sub-division in Darjeeling.
KYKL was formed in 1994 with an objective to 'rebuild' Manipuri society by cleansing it of all immoral activities.
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18 injured in Bangladesh-India borderAFP, Dhaka, 15 March : At least 18 villagers were injured during a two-hour firefight between Indian and Bangladeshi troops across the troubled border, a security official in Dhaka said on Monday.
The shoot-out occurred Sunday after indigenous Indian tribal people entered Bangladeshi territory to fish, local border chief Colonel Jahirul Alam said. "Bangladeshi villagers tried to prevent them fishing. Indian border security forces started shooting, and our guards fired back," he said. The 18 injured Bangladeshis have been admitted to hospital, he added. Officials in New Delhi were unable to confirm the reports.
Soldiers from the two countries often exchange gunfire along their 4,000-kilometre border, much of which has been fenced by India. Early this month the heads of the two countries' border forces met in New Delhi and pledged to scale back confrontations.
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BSF seizes fake currency from Indo-Bangladesh border
PTI, Malda, 15 March : The BSF today seized fake Indian currency notes and two pistols from Kaliachowk area of the Indo-Bangla border in Malda district.
One person was detained in the case, from whom the currency notes worth Rs 53000 and two pistol were seized at Chari Anantapur border outpost, BSF personnel said.
PTI, Malda, 15 March : The BSF today seized fake Indian currency notes and two pistols from Kaliachowk area of the Indo-Bangla border in Malda district.
One person was detained in the case, from whom the currency notes worth Rs 53000 and two pistol were seized at Chari Anantapur border outpost, BSF personnel said.
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BDR to open fire at drug traders, if necessary : BDR's DG
Dhaka, 15 March : BDR Director General Md Mainul Islam on Monday gave direction to the border guards to open fire at drug traders if necessary to prevent border drug trading.
The Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) DG told this to reporters at a press briefing after adjourning the trial of 310 more jawans accused in 25-26 February Pilkhana mutiny case. The border guard chief also termed Sunday's firing between Indian Border Security Force (BSF) and BDR as 'unfortunate' as the untoward incident occurred only four days after the directors general level meeting of BDR and BSF in New Delhi.
Dhaka, 15 March : BDR Director General Md Mainul Islam on Monday gave direction to the border guards to open fire at drug traders if necessary to prevent border drug trading.
The Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) DG told this to reporters at a press briefing after adjourning the trial of 310 more jawans accused in 25-26 February Pilkhana mutiny case. The border guard chief also termed Sunday's firing between Indian Border Security Force (BSF) and BDR as 'unfortunate' as the untoward incident occurred only four days after the directors general level meeting of BDR and BSF in New Delhi.
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High interest rates main obstacle to microfinance : Finance Minister MuhithUNB, Dhaka, 15 March : Bangladesh Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Monday said that complaints of high interest rates and charges are the main problems of microfinance institutions in the country.
“Microfinance has some problems. To me, these are high interest rates and charges,” he said while inaugurating a three-day international conference on microfinance at Dhaka's Hotel Sonargaon hotel. Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman presided over the inaugural session while Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) chairman Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad and DFID country representative Chris Austin spoke as special guests.
Mentioning some of the other problems, Muhith said the borrowers are getting into “a debt trap” in microfinance. The number of people coming out of poverty level through microfinance is not that much. Lamenting that the microfinance is also leading people to low-level technology trap, he said: “We have to think how to get out of this trap.” န Photo : Nashirul Islam
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Explosives seized in Maoist hit Purulia's Ayodhya hills area
Purulia, 15 March : A cache of explosives has been seized from Maoist affected Ayodhya hills area of Purulia district by the joint forces personnel, police said today.
Around 300 detonators and 100 gelatine sticks were recovered from two persons at Sirkabadh adjoining Ayodhya Hills under Arsa police station last evening during a routine checking. The duo, challenged by the forces, tried to flee but were caught and the explosives were found in their carry bags. The two men, residents of Arsa, were being interrogated to ascertain whether they had any link with Maoists, they said.
Purulia, 15 March : A cache of explosives has been seized from Maoist affected Ayodhya hills area of Purulia district by the joint forces personnel, police said today.
Around 300 detonators and 100 gelatine sticks were recovered from two persons at Sirkabadh adjoining Ayodhya Hills under Arsa police station last evening during a routine checking. The duo, challenged by the forces, tried to flee but were caught and the explosives were found in their carry bags. The two men, residents of Arsa, were being interrogated to ascertain whether they had any link with Maoists, they said.
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PM Sk Hasina to send Tagore's Padma houseboat model to Visva-Bharati museumKolkata, 15 March : The upcoming museum in Visva-Bharati for Rabindranath Tagore’s 150 anniversary celebrations will have a big replica of the poet’s famous Padma houseboat, thanks to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed.
On 1 March, a letter from Sheikh Hasina’s office reached the secretary of the Cultural Affairs Ministry of Bangladesh asking him to promptly respond to an appeal for help from Rabindra Bhavana (RB). RB is the arm of Visva-Bharati entrusted with the job of preserving Tagore heritage. The letter has directed the Culture Affairs secretary to treat the request as “extremely important and necessary.” Among the exhibits Rabindra Bhavana officials want to highlight is the houseboat that Tagore used to sail on, the Padma.
“The size of the replica would ideally be five to seven feet in length, big enough to bring out the inside details of the original structure,” said Nilanjan Bandyopadhyay, special officer who appealed to the Bangladesh Prime Minister on 25 January.The boat, along with the Kuthibari in Silaidaha in Bangladesh’s Kusthia district, forms inalienable parts of Tagore’s creative persona. Tagore had stayed at Shilaidaha intermittently for a decade from 1890 when he used the boat regularly. Some of his best compositions, including Sonar Tari and the English translation of Gitanjali took place at that time. The Padma boat was built by craftsmen from Dhaka and was ordered by the poet’s grandfather Dwarkanath Tagore. It had a dining room and a bedroom.
Among the other requests that Rabindra Bhavana authorities made apart from the Padma boat are digital copies of Tagore’s manuscripts preserved at different archives in Bangladesh.
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Trial of 310more Bangladesh Rifles men begins at Pilkhana
Dhaka, 15 March : The trial of 310 alleged BDR mutineers of 36 Rifle Battalion of Dhaka sector began at the Pilkhana headquarters in the capital on Monday.
Of the accused, 69 BDR personnel are still in service at Pilkhana while the others in jail. The Special Court-5, led by BDR Director General Maj Gen Md Mainul Islam, ordered to show 241 BDR men, already in jail, arrested in this case. It also asked to produce all the 310 accused before the court after arresting 69 BDR jawans still in service.
Dhaka, 15 March : The trial of 310 alleged BDR mutineers of 36 Rifle Battalion of Dhaka sector began at the Pilkhana headquarters in the capital on Monday.
Of the accused, 69 BDR personnel are still in service at Pilkhana while the others in jail. The Special Court-5, led by BDR Director General Maj Gen Md Mainul Islam, ordered to show 241 BDR men, already in jail, arrested in this case. It also asked to produce all the 310 accused before the court after arresting 69 BDR jawans still in service.
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Parbatya Bangali Chhatra Parishad call off blockade in hills
Rangamati, 15 March : Samo Odhikar Andolon and its student wing Parbatya Bangalee Chhatra Parishad on Monday called off a road and waterway blockade programme they had announced in three hill districts for 18 March protesting ‘harassment’ of their leaders.The announcement came from a meeting at the organisation's Rangamati office in the morning. Central President of Parbatya Bangalee Gono Parishad Jalal Uddin Chowdhury said they do not want to enforce any blockade programme in the month of independence of the country.
The leaders of Samo Odhikar Andolon announced the blockade programme on Saturday bringing allegation that Yakub Ali Chowdhury, founder president of the Chhatra Parishad, has been falsely implicated in the cases filed for recent arsons in CHT.
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