Himu's Window

English in Schools (EIS), a joint initiative by The Daily Star and AKTEL, is a very positive and timely initiative; it will open up a new horizon for English learners, said educationists yesterday. This will help students know the world better and face the present global challenges, they observed at an EIS orientation session for schoolteachers. At least 250 teachers from 118 secondary schools in Rajshahi from eight districts - Joypurhat, Bogra, Pabna, Sirajganj, Chapainawabganj, Naogaon, Natore and Rajshahi participated in the event at Nanking Darbar Hall in the city yesterday. Under the EIS, around 1,000 schools across the country will get three copies of The Daily Star each five days a week for free. The distribution already began in 479 schools in Dhaka, Mymensingh, Comilla and Rajshahi zones. More schools in Barishal zone will be brought under the programme on July 4. The Daily Star will bring out an extra page featuring helpful materials and discussions every week to help student

Saturday, June 20, 2009 Editorial Eviction of indigenous people There must be zero tolerance for this kind of action The news out of Khatirpur at Porsha in Naogaon, where over 50 indigenous families have been attacked and forcibly evicted from their land, shocks us all. We unequivocally condemn this barbarous act, and strongly urge the government to take remedial action. The victimisation of Bangladesh's indigenous populations is, unfortunately, not a new phenomenon. We feel that the government has a special responsibility to protect the country's minority communities and to ensure that none of their rights are violated. It is because of their being in a minority, being out of the mainstream of society that land-grabbers and other criminal elements feel emboldened to cheat them or deny them of their rights. Powerful members of the majority community calculate that no one will lift a finger to help such marginalised people, and that they can thus be targeted with impunity. The

A government probe team detected that former agriculture minister Matiur Rahman Nizami was behind misuse, waste and misappropriation of at least Tk 35 crore of Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) during the four-party alliance rule. The team also found that Tk 81.27 crore more of BMDA was wasted, misused or embezzled during that period. In response, Nizami, who heads Jamaat-e-Islami, a partner of the four-party alliance, told The Daily Star, "I am surprised hearing about the probe report. I am in no way involved in the alleged corruption and misuse, waste and misappropriation of BMDA money. This is a politically-motivated move against me with an intention to defame me." He said he never interfered in BMDA operations when he was a minister from 2001 to May 2003. The BMDA had been run by successive governments and it had no direct link with the minister, he claimed. Headed by Omar Faruk Chowdhury, lawmaker from Rajshahi-1 constituency, the seven-member government t

Published On: 2009-06-01 Even though this mango trade centre at Baneswar in Rajshahi seems full of mangoes and traders, the hustle and bustle of the place is much less than that of previous years.Photo: STAR 50pc drop in mango output Climate change blamed Mango growers fear 50 percent drop in production this year in Rajshahi region due to irregular weather pattern. Horticulturists attributed the sharp slump in mango production to abnormal variations to the climate that has an adverse affect on the Mother Nature. "Mango yield might drop to around 2.14 lakh tonnes from last year's average 4.28 lakh tonnes", said M Abul Bashar, Rajshahi regional additional director of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE). The annual average mango production is about five lakh tonnes from over 45,000 hectares of land in eight districts including the mango capital Chapainwabganj where mango grows on the highest 22,000 hectares of land while it is about 8500 hectares in Rajshahi. The