Electronic Voting System (EVS) soon: PM

April 13: The government has plans to introduce an electronic voting system with a view to making the election process more transparent and credible.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Tuesday divulged the matter when outgoing UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Bangladesh Renata Lok Dessallien paid a farewell call on her at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Referring to use of transparent ballot boxes in the last general elections, Hasina said that her present government is actively considering adaptation of modern technologies for making election process more transparent and free from debate in near future.

She put utmost importance on uninterrupted democracy for development and said that her government has taken various measures to strengthen parliamentary democracy in the country.

In this context, she told the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative that her government has already strengthened Election Commission (EC) in this connection.

Hasina mentioned that a strong opposition is very much important to make the democracy fruitful and said her government wants to see a strong opposition in parliament for the sake of vibrant parliamentary democracy.

In this connection she said that her government appointed chairmen of seven parliamentary standing committees in the Jatiya Sangsad from the opposition, so that they could play their role in the process of further strengthening the parliamentary democracy.

She also mentioned that during her last visit to Sweden, she included one parliament member from opposition BNP.

The Prime Minister said her government has created immense scope for the opposition MPs to play their due role in Parliament.

But, she regretted that when her party was in the opposition they did not get enough time to speak for the people during BNP-Jamaat alliance government.

“The then speaker during the four party alliance government rejected at least 2,000 questions submitted by the opposition Awami League,” she said.

Referring to the present power crisis in the country, she said her government is making all out efforts to solve the crisis although the situation was created by the BNP led 4-party alliance government.

“We have already undertaken short, mid and long term programmes to increase power generation to meet growing demand,” she said.

The Prime Minister said this situation has worsened as not a single megawatt electricity was produced during the tenure of BNP-Jamaat government and two years tenure of the caretaker government.

Sheikh Hasina thanked the UNDP for extending its support in Bangladesh specially for strengthening local government institutions and parliamentary democracy.

In reply, Renata also thanked the government for extending its support to discharge her duties in Bangladesh smoothly. She hoped that the UNDP’s support to the country’s development endeavors would continue in future.

During the meeting, they discussed UNDP’s support to Bangladesh for strengthening democratic institutions and parliamentary democracy.

Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Abul Kalam Azad, who was present at the meeting, briefed the reporters.

Ambassador At-Large M Ziauddin, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister M A Karim, and Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office Molla Waheeduzaman, among others, were present during the meeting.//UNBConnect.com.

THE DAILY INDEPENDENT

DCC election schedule by Apr 18

The Election Commission will declare the schedules for Dhaka City Corporation elections if the government fails to provide its feedback by April 18.
‘We have to announce the schedules by that time if we want the election in May,’ the chief election commissioner, ATM Shamsul Huda, told reporters on Monday.
The EC has asked for opinion of the local government division on the elections.
He said, ‘We’re quite
sure that the government doesn’t want the elections now. It might be rescheduled to September or October if it is not possible in May.’
Huda said there were a number of problems with holding DCC elections after May.
He said the Chittagong City Corporation election would be held by June 25.
‘And we don’t want to miss that deadline.’
The election chief said the commission came
to know of the government’s position regarding DCC elections from newspapers.
‘But they have to submit a letter regarding this.’
Earlier in the month, Huda said the DCC election schedule would be announced between April 16 and April 18.

50 convicted in Thakurgaon BDR trial

A special court in Thakurgaon convicted 50 and acquitted one for border guards' mutiny in 2009.
In the second verdict relating to the BDR mutiny where BDR men in Thakurgaon rebelled in support of their comrades in headquarters, Dhaka February 25-26 last year, two border guards were given the maximum penalty of seven years of rigorous imprisonment.
All the convicted BDR personnel belong to 20 Rifles Battalion.
The BDR director general, Major General Mainul Islam, head of the three-member court, delivered the verdict.
A total of 33 people testified in the case. Charges were pressed against 51 accused last week. Of them 44 admitted their involvement in the mutiny.
The special court-2 in Thakurgaon began trial on February 3. It was adjourned on February 5.
The court resumed on April 8.
The Panchagarh special BDR court on April 7 became the first to issue verdict among the six special courts across the country trying the BDR mutineers.
Twenty-nine members of the 25th Rifles Battalion have been accused of rebellion in support of the massacre at the BDR headquarters in Dhaka on February 25 and 26 last year.
The BDR headquarters mutiny saw over 70 people killed, nearly 60 of them army officers deputed to the border force. Rebellion spread to other BDR outposts around the country.
On November 15, the government formed six special courts, including two in Dhaka, to try about 3,500 border guards accused in 40 cases around the country.
The six special courts are trying charges of mutiny, looting and arson. The BDR headquarters murders will be tried separately in civilian courts.
The BDR members at Thakurgaon are accused of rebellion in support of the Pilkhana mutiny.
In the event of a guilty verdict, the maximum penalty for rebellion under the BDR Act is seven years in jail.
Special BDR courts in Rangamati, Satkhira and Feni have also set verdict dates for ongoing trials. Verdicts in the trial of 19th Rifles Battalion in Feni will be given on April 18; of 7th Rifles Battalion of Satkhira on April 19; and of Rajnagar Battalion of Rangamati on May 2.

THE NEW AGE

Upazila chairs want authority over officials

The Upazila Parishad’s chairmen on Monday submitted a seven-point charter of demands to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the chief one of which is to place all the grassroots-level government officers under the jurisdiction of the Upazila Parishads for strengthening local government administration and ensuring accountability of government officers.
They also urged the prime minister to amend several Articles of the Upazila Parishad Act.
‘We have asked the prime minister to turn an Upazila Parishad into a single umbrella administration for strengthening the local government system,’ convenor of the Bangladesh Upazila Parishad Chairmen’s Association, Harunar Rashid, told New Age after attending a workshop at the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday.
Almost all the chairmen of the country’s 481 Upazila Parishads attended the workshop titled ‘Upazila Council Management and Digital Bangladesh’. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the workshop in which three chairmen expressed the grievances of upazila chairmen who have had no work for the last 14 months.
Harunar Rashid, chairman of Patuakhali’s Dumki upazila, said they have demanded amendment the Upazila Parishad Act for fulfilment of the seven-point charter of demands, which includes placing all grassroots-level government offices, including the local administration now working under an upazila nirbahi officer and the police administration now working under an officer-in-charge, at the disposal of the Upazila Parishads.
The Upazila Parishads should be given the power to control the salaries and holidays of all government officers working there, and also to write and send Annual Confidential Reports on them. ‘They [officers] should be made accountable to the Parishads,’ he said.
They also demanded cancellation of the provisions of handing over the authority and responsibilities of Upazila Parishads to government officers. ‘The executive authority of the Upazila Parishad should always be given to an elected representative,’ he said.
The chairmen also sought amendments to Articles 25 and 42 of the Act to ensure that the MPs have to implement their development programmes through the Upazila Parishads. ‘It will help to resolve the conflict [of authority] between the MPs and the Upazila Parishads,’ he said.
The chairmen also requested the PM to amend the Warrant of Precedence by upgrading their position above ‘non-elected persons’ for ensuring their dignity as elected representatives in front of the government officers. ‘The elected and non-elected persons should be placed in separate categories in the Warrant of Precedence,’ said Harunar Rashid.
The elected Upazila Parishad chairmen are in the lowest tier of the Warrant of Precedence and are equal to the chairmen of Class I municipalities, civil surgeons, deputy secretaries of the government, superintendents of police and officers of the rank of Major in the army and equivalent ranks in the navy and the air force.
Besides, the upazila chairmen also demanded that they should be made the chiefs of the upazila committees on law and order, land, open market sale and creating jobs for the extreme poor people, which are now led by the UNOs.
Badiuzzaman Badshah of Nalitabari Upazila of Sherpur district and Abdul Majid of Saturia Upazila of Manikganj also spoke on behalf of the upazila chairmen.
Bodiuzzaman alleged that MPs have a patronising, sometimes contemptuous, attitude towards the upazila chairmen.
The Parliament on 6 April, 2009 unanimously passed the Act, making it mandatory for Upazila Parishad representatives to consult lawmakers and to accept their recommendations in implementing the development projects in their constituencies.
In March the government framed a set of rules on the responsibilities of, and financial facilities for, upazila chairman and vice-chairman, keeping field officials, including the UNOs, beyond the authority of the elected representatives.
The upazila chairman do not have any authority of appointment and disciplinary action, if needed, against the officials either deputed to, or placed at the disposal of, Upazila Parishads, according to the Upazila Parishad Chairman and Vice-Chairman (Responsibilities and Financial Facilities) Rules 2010, which has angered the elected representatives.
Sheikh Hasina has assured upazila chairmen that the government would immediately distribute responsibilities to the MPs, upazila chairmen, vice chairmen and UNOs, said the UNB.
According to the Act, the Upazila Parishad is responsible for maintaining law and order and playing the leading role in infrastructure development, agriculture and irrigation, health and family welfare, women and youth development, land, rural development, social welfare, information and culture, forest and environment and market monitoring in the area under its jurisdiction.

THE NEW AGE

Govt allows toxic ship import

The government has legalised import of toxic ships for scrapping without pre-cleaning or decontamination.
Environmental activists called the government action suicidal and warned it would expose tens of thousands of people to toxic wastes that would pose a grave threat to environment, ecology and the lives and health of workers at ship-breaking yards and residents living in the surroundings.
The government on April 8 amended the Import Policy Order to allow import of toxic ships and the gazette notification of the amendment was published on Monday.
The environmentalists have resolved to challenge the government action in the court as the amendment has been made in violation of a High Court ruling.
Article 25(40) of the Import Policy Order 2009-2012, issued on January 26, stipulated that importers, to obtain permission for import of scrap vessels, must submit a certificate issued by the government of the exporter’s country or by any agency authorised by that government stating that the ship has been cleaned and contains no toxic materials.
The amended article says that the importers, to bring scrap vessels, will need to submit a certificate issued by the exporter and a declaration made by the importer stating that the vessel carries no other toxic or hazardous wastes except the in-built ones.
The executive director of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, and environment lawyer Iqbal Kabir told New Age on Monday that the amended provision legalised the import of scrap ships carrying in-built wastes such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), TBT, oil, asbestos some of which can even cause cancer.
‘Now there is no way the government can stop entry of vessels containing deadly asbestos or PCPs in its body,’ Rizwana said.
The amendment is a clear violation of the Basel Convention 1989 and the High Court verdict on the issue, said Rizwana and Iqbal.
The Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association will challenge the order in court, they said.
The Import Policy Order 2009-2012 was issued on January 26 with the precondition for import of scrap ships in accordance with the High Court verdict and the Basel Convention, they added.
The High Court bench of Justice Md Imman Ali and Justice Sheikh Abdul Awal, in a verdict on March 17, 2009, ordered that vessels having hazardous wastes or containing hazardous materials ‘has to be decontaminated at source or outside the territories of Bangladesh’ following the Basel Convention on Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes, 1989.
The convention requires all wastes to be removed by the producer prior to the vessel’s cross-boundary movement.
Bangladesh has no ability to deal with the in-built contaminants or wastes of ships, yet it is importing the same simply to help the European countries to get rid of their hazardous junk ships, said Rizwana and Iqbal.
Although ship-breakers claim they meet 80 per cent of the country’s demand for iron, according to documents available with the customs, only 25 per cent of the demand for iron is met by ship-breaking yards and the rest is imported, they said.
The environmental activists also mentioned that at least 38 workers were killed and 49 maimed in accidents at ship-breaking yards in Bangladesh in last two years and most of the accidents were caused by hazardous materials contained in scrap vessels.
The government earlier banned two vessels, including the SS Norway which contained 1,250 tonnes of asbestos, from being dismantled in its scrap yards after the ships were branded toxic by the Greenpeace.

THE NEW AGE

BSF refuses to ask Indians
not to trespass
Flag meeting fails amid growing tension
on Jaintapur border
Staff Correspondent . Sylhet

Tension escalated in the Sylhet border on Monday after the Indian Border Security Force turned down a Bangladesh Rifles request to stop their nationals from intruding into Bangladesh territory on the pretext that the Indian government had not given them the authority to do so.
BSF officials at a battalion commander level flag meeting between the two border guards at Tamabil land port in the afternoon, refused to restrain Indian civilians from trespassing and fishing in Bangladesh territory, sources in the BDR said.
At least 15 Bangladeshis were injured when the BSF and Indian Khasia tribesmen opened fire on Bangladeshi villagers on Sunday afternoon when they tried to resist the Indian nationals from fishing in the Kendribil marsh, some 300 metres inside Bangladesh territory.
At the meeting the Indian officials, however, agreed to hold a high-level meeting of the border guards of the two countries for a solution of the disputes over lands along the Sylhet border, the sources added.
Commanding officer of the 21 Rifles Battalion, lieutenant colonel Khandaker Zahirul Alam represented the BDR side while BSF’s commanding officer Shekhar Gupta led the Indian side in the flag meeting that ended at about 6:00pm.
The BDR Sylhet sector commander colonel Niamul Islam Fatemi told New Age over telephone in the evening that they had requested the BSF officials in the flag meeting to ask their nationals not to cross into Bangladesh territory in the area.
The Indian officials said they could not do so as their government had not given them such authority, colonel Fatemi said.
What the BSF meant was that the Indian nationals would continue to trespass into Bangladesh territory and BSF will not ask them not to do so, he added.
‘It means Indian nationals will cross into Bangladesh territory and fish and the BSF will not prevent them,’ the BDR official said.
The BDR official told his Indian counterpart in the meeting that if the BSF did not prevent their people from intruding into Bangladesh, the BDR could not ask Bangladesh nationals not to resist the Indians.
‘The land belongs to them [Bangladeshis] and we cannot ask them to hand over their ownership to others,’ colonel Fatemi said.
Lieutenant colonel Khandaker Zahirul Alam of the 21 Rifles Battalion said the BSF officials, however, regretted the incident of rampant firing on the Bangladeshi villagers by the Indian border guards and Khasia tribesmen.
The BSF assured the BDR that such incidents would not be repeated and stressed the need for holding a high-level meeting between the border guards of the two countries for reaching a solution to the disputes over lands in Sylhet border that included Pratappur under Goainghat and Dibir Haor at Jaintapur.
Sources in the BDR said that tension at the Pratappur border had mounted after the flag meeting ended without an agreement.
Sources said the tension triggered by digging of bunkers and taking position with heavy weapons by the BSF about 150m inside Bangladesh territory in Pratappur border on Thursday night seemed to diminish Monday noon as the BSF agreed to sit in a flag meeting.
Residents of villages along the Pratappur border, including Uttar Pratappur, Hazipur, Dhalarpar, Balurkona and Pangthumai, who fled their homes Friday morning did not return till Monday.
Day labourer Hiran Miah of village Balurkona said he thought he would be able to return home after the flag meeting. ‘But the situation seems to have turned worse as the BSF officials did not agree to the BDR’s proposal in the flag meeting.’

THE NEW AGE

15 wounded in BSF firing

Villagers flee for safety as over 1,000 gunshots traded on Jaintapur border in Sylhet; offensives after Delhi meeting shock BDR chief

(Top) People, who were injured as Bangladesh Rifles and the Indian Border Security Force traded fire near Jaintapur border in Sylhet, were admitted to the Jaintapur Upazila Health Complex. (Right) A deserted hut in the area as the villagers fled their homes. Photo: STARStar Report

Bangladesh Rifles and the Indian Border Security Force traded gunfire for around three hours yesterday after BSF crossed the Jaintapur border in Sylhet and shot locals.

At least 15 villagers were injured in the BSF firing, reports our staff correspondent from Sylhet.

The BDR and BSF jawans fired more than a thousand shots, forcing the villagers to flee their homes, said eyewitnesses.

The skirmish took place a day after BSF intruded into Bangladesh, dug bunkers and retreated following a flag meeting.

Only three days back, the Indian frontier force assured their Bangladesh counterpart of no more killing of villagers in the bordering areas. The assurance came when directors general of the two forces met in New Delhi.

Some 40 Indian Khasia people entered the Bangladesh territory through Muktapur-Jaintapur at around 10:30am.

An hour later, they were joined by a hundred more. Backed by the Indian border guards, they soon began erecting bamboo huts at Mandir Tila, about 300 yards off the no-man's land.

As they refused to leave on repeated requests from the villagers, a brawl ensued. Hurling stones, the two sides chased each other for an hour.

At around 2:00pm, BSF opened fire on the villagers and the BDR personnel posted in Dibir Haor area.

Bangladesh border guards returned fire, leading to a gunfight that continued till the Indians retreated at 4:45pm.

Of the injured, Abul Kalam, 35, was admitted to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital. The others--Sumon 25, Abdur Rahman, 30, Mohammad Russell, 20, Ram, 25, Matin Miah, 30, Abdur Rahim, 40, Solaiman Miah, 80, Abdul Halim, 40, Mashuk,35, Sabbir Ahmed, Mokbul Ali, 26, Monir Hossain, 25, Kabir Ahmed, 22 and Akkel Ali-- were taken to Jaintapur Upazila Health Complex.

Most of them hail from Dibir Haor, Ghilatail, Naljur and Fulbari areas.

Lieutenant Colonel Zahirul Alam, commanding officer of 21 Rifle Battalion in Sylhet, said the attack on the villagers was premeditated. Alongside BSF jawans, Indian khasias took part in the battle.

He however could not confirm the number of gunshots traded.

Talking to The Daily Star last night, BDR Director General Major Gen Md Mainul Islam termed the incident "very regretful”.

He said the BSF stopped firing after BDR had contacted the Indian side.

He observed the decisions taken at the recent director general-level meet do not seem to have been communicated to the BSF officials at the grassroots level.

Gen Mainul stressed the need for the joint boundary working group to meet immediately to prevent a flare-up.

Situation along the Jaintapur border has been tensed since early February.

During the period, Indians made several attempts to occupy land in Dibir Haor and Kendra Beel areas.

On February 4, the Indian border guards abducted nayek Mujibur Rahman from Dibir Haor. They returned him after a flag meeting on the Tamabil frontier.

On February 14, three Bangladeshis were injured in BSF firing in the same area. The Indian guards fired at Bangladeshis again on February 26 and 28.

Source : The Daily Star

How to Improve the Skills of Indian Cricket Team

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

INDIAN cricket team is recently aiming to be at no 1 position in ICC cricket rankings.But i think this team cannot achieve this goal,sorry to say being an Indian.The reason is explained as follows.

Steps

1. Why i am thinking this is because this team doesn't have that quality bowling.Each and every team has been scoring lots of runs against INDIA.This is so embarrasing,even teams like BANGLADESH are scoring around 300.INDIA has not really improved at all in bowling and fielding in past 2 years.The amount of success this team has achieved under the captaincy of MS DHONI,is mainly because of their batting skills.Their batting strength is immense.Really INDIA has developed their batting skills immensely in recent times.There are lots of talented youngsters in the side,so there is a lot of depth in the batting.Batting is not really a concern for INDIA but the major concern is INDIA's bowling and fielding.The strike bowlers are going for plenty in their first spells,and as well as they are not doing well in the dead overs.Catching is also a major concern for team INDIA.They have to do a lot of homework on their bowling and fielding.MS DHONI cannot always rely on their batting.Really if they want to win big ICC tournaments and to be the no1 side in the world,they has to do well in all aspects of the game and has to be very consistent.
   

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Improve the Skills of Indian Cricket Team. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

BD News

Hi, Everyone I am a new blogger. I ll try my level best to represent all highlighted news of Bangladesh every time.