Himu's Window

Saturday, December 26, 2009 Declining groundwater hits irrigation The drought that hit aman production in the Barind region this season is likely to affect the forthcoming boro too. The anxiety deepens as the irrigation machines cannot pump up water properly due to drop in the underground water level in the Barind tract under Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj districts. Against this backdrop, Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) has started recommending boro growers to cultivate other crops like wheat, maize and pulses that are relatively less dependant on irrigation. The BMDA also sent notices to its branches in 25 upazilas in the three districts asking them to ensure irrigation of no more than 100 bighas of land with every deep tube-well despite the growers' demand for more. "We are urging farmers to divert to other crops that hardly need irrigation with an aim to reduce pressure on the deep tube-wells," said BMDA Executive Director Ab...

Saturday, December 26, 2009   "And the winner is ...Konal," TV presenter Farzana Brownia dramatically announced at end of the four-hour grand finale of "Channel i Shera Kontho 2009", a musical talent hunt, held at Rajshahi District Stadium on Thursday night. With the announcement, the chilly winter night in the northwestern city warmed up for some moments as 25000 people at the stadium and some 50,000 outside jumped up in joy and fireworks lit the sky. It was a night to remember in Rajshahi. The announcement came as a relief to millions of Bangladeshis at home and abroad glued to the TV screen, waiting for the result. Somnur Monir Konal from Dhaka won the title, while Chaitee Mutsuddi Liza and the youngest finalist Moumita Tasrin Nadiraj won the first and second runner-up positions respectively. Konal received a cheque worth Tk eight lakh, while Chaitee got Tk five lakh and Nadiraj got Tk three lakh. They also received monetary and other gifts f...

Friday, December 25, 2009 Different quarters yesterday demanded reinvestigation into the killing of Rajshahi University teacher Prof Muhammad Yunus while the trial process of the case against eight JMB militants is at final sage at Rajshahi Speedy Trial Tribunal. The tribunal fixed December 31 for holding argument between the lawyers of both sides on completion of recording statements of 26 prosecution witnesses and examining the accused on Wednesday. "After the argument, the tribunal will fix the date for delivering the verdict in the case", said Public Prosecutor Entajul Haque Babu. Teachers and students of RU economics department demanded reinvestigation into Prof Yunus murder case while observing his fifth death anniversary on the campus yesterday. Hundreds of students and teachers of the department brought out a silent procession on the campus at around 11:00am and held a rally in front of the department. Addressing the rally, Prof M Moazzem Hossain Kh...

Friday, December 18, 2009 Ritwik Kumar Ghatak, the Bengali master filmmaker was born in Dhaka on November 4, 1925 and stayed in Rajshahi for several years. He and his family moved to Calcutta (now Kolkata) in West Bengal in the 1940s. Partition (1947) had a major impact on Ghatak and is a recurring subject in his works. Ghatak's films are now celebrated in India and beyond. His stature among Bengali film directors is comparable to that of Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. Nevertheless, he is rarely remembered ceremonially in Bangladesh. Starting from yesterday, Rajshahi Film Society has begun a three-day Ritwik Ghatak Film Festival at Rajshahi Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital at Ghoramara. Ghatak used to stay in the house that was later turned into the medical college. "Our aim is to celebrate the life and works of Ghatak who maintained a bond between Bangladesh and West Bengal," said Dr FMA Zahid, convenor of the film society. Eminent litterateur Ha...

Friday, December 18, 2009 The nation as a whole had the final victory on December 16 in 1971 but the people of Rajshahi and Pabna had to wait for two more days to have the taste of freedom as the Pakistani occupation troops were desperately holding on a few camps there. On the night of December 17 and early December 18, Pakistani forces fled to Natore from Shahid Shamsuzzoha Hall of Rajshahi University, their last camp in Rajshahi, reports our staff correspondent from Rajshahi. Local people rescued a number of injured people including many tortured and abused women from the hall. The Pakistani forces surrendered to the allied forces in Natore on December 20. Sporadic clashes between the local people and Pakistani forces started in early March of 1971. On March 28, Pak forces killed a number of policemen at Rajshahi Police Lines for their refusal to surrender arms. As the freedom fighters under leadership of the then Captain Giasuddin Chowdhury and Captain Rashid sta...

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 Farmers in Chapainawa-bganj earned an additional Tk 15 lakh last fiscal year simply by changing their product packing system. Farmers now use plastic crates instead of traditional straw-cushioned bamboo baskets covered with jute sacks. The plastic crates help farmers cut losses. In fiscal 2007-08, the growers packed around 205 tonnes of fruits for sale. But they had to throw away around 10 tonnes, as those were rotten due to the poor traditional packing system, said an official of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The crates were provided by USAID under its project Poverty Reduction by Increasing the Competitiveness of Enterprises. But the farmers were able to sell all of their 250 tonnes of fruits in fiscal 2008-09 thanks to plastic crates, the official added. In each plastic crate, 25 kilogram of mangoes can be packed. The traditional baskets are costlier than the new ones but not suitable for sending the fr...

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 In a sequel to heists in five public offices in Rajshahi and Natore over last two nights, criminals ransacked another government office at Sutrapur in Bogra town on Sunday night and stabbed its night guard to death. Meanwhile, the government sent alerts to all district and upazila administration offices and law enforcement agencies to remain vigilant. Police and officials concerned in Bogra told our staff correspondent that a gang forced their way into the public works department (PWD) office, sometime on Sunday night, and stabbed night guard Jamaluddin, 35, to death and tied up another guard Abu Taleb. They also ransacked 33 almirahs in 14 rooms of the office. Earlier on Friday and Saturday nights, criminals also ransacked five government offices in Rajshahi and Natore, including Rajshahi Divisional Commissioner's office after tying up their night guards. Police of the three districts could not ascertain the motives behind the robbers...