Artist Khalid Mahmood Mithu dies in tragic accident

Renowned artist and national award winning director Khalid Mahmood Mithu, dies in a tragic accident in Dhanmondi area of Dhaka. Star File Photo

Star Online Report

Renowned artist and national award winning director Khalid Mahmood Mithu, died today in a tragic accident as a tree fell on him at Dhanmondi area in Dhaka.
Mithu, also the husband of artist Kanak Chapa Chakma, was on a rickshaw passing Dhanmondi Road 4 when a tree fell on him around 2:00pm, said Noor-e-Azam, officer-in-charge of Dhanmondi Police Station.
He was rushed to Gonoshastho Nagar hospital where on duty doctors declared him dead due to internal bleeding, the OC said.

Notable director and artist Khalid Mahmood Mithu died as this tree fell on his rickshaw in Dhanmondi area of Dhaka. This photo was taken on March 7, 2016 by Amran Hossain

62 AL candidates get a walkover

UP Elections

Pankag Karmakar

The ruling Awami League's 62 chairman candidates have been elected unopposed in the first phase of union parishad (UP) polls.
No independents or candidates of other parties are running in those UPs, which are mostly in Bagerhat, Khulna, Jhalakathi, Gopalganj, Bhola, Barisal, Brahmanbaria, Barguna, Madaripur, and Satkhira.
Talking to The Daily Star, former election commissioner M Sakhawat Hussain termed the AL men being elected unopposed “unusual”.
"As per my experience, I think the union parishad polls are the most competitive elections at grassroots level. In the past, a huge number of candidates contested the polls," he said.
But now the scenario is different in some UPs, he said, adding that the EC should investigate the matter.
The EC, however, finds nothing wrong.
Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad on March 3 told reporters that if people did not file nominations, there was nothing wrong in some people getting elected unopposed.
However, media reports said AL men allegedly obstructed BNP-nominated candidates and AL's rebel aspirants from submitting their nomination papers before the returning officers in many UPs on February 22, the last date for filing nomination for the first phase of polls.
For the first time, elections to UP chairman post will be held on partisan lines. Apart from the first phase, elections to around 650 UPs will be held on March 31 in second phase. The rest of the over 2,800 UPs will go to polls in another four phases until June.
Meanwhile, smaller political parties have showed poor response to the polls. Just nine parties fielded only 89 chairman aspirants in the first phase on March 22, when 732 posts would be up for grabs.

Nazrul Islam Belal, a chairman candidate for the upcoming polls in Khadimpara-4 Union of Sylhet Sadar upazila, running election campaign in Pirer Bazar area on Saturday. Election to 738 UPs will be held on March 22 in the first phase, while the second phase is scheduled for March 31. Photo: Star

Out of 40 registered political parties, 16 expressed their willingess to contest the polls. Finally, 13 fielded candidates while three parties -- Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Rob), Bangladesh Islami Front and Bangladesh Kallyan Party -- could not field any candidate.
In the case of small parties, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) nominated 29, Workers' Party of Bangladesh (WPB) 23, Jatiya Party (JP-Manju) 17, Bangladesh Nationalist Front (BNF) 7, Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) 4, Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh (BDB) 4, Bangladesh National Awami Party (NAP) 3, Bangladesh Tariqat Federation 1 and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Bangladesh 1.
About this, Sakhawat told The Daily Star it reflects that small political parties could not flourish in Bangladesh. Most of them do not have activities at the grassroots level.
Small political parties should beef up their organisational strength and enhance political activities at the grassroots level for the sake of developing democratic culture in Bangladesh, he viewed.
The BNP has no candidates in 119 UPs. The party could not field candidates in 70 UPs and its nominations of candidates were cancelled by returning officers in 49 UPs, according to the statistics of the Election Commission.
Islami Andolon Bangladesh (IAB), however, fielded chairman aspirants in 227 UPs, while the main opposition Jatiya Party (JP) nominated its candidates in 127 UPs.

The light of Joypurhat

One woman's solar power quest for village students

Meftahul Jannat Likhan hands over solar power equipment to a poor family in Khasbatra village under Panchbibi upazila of Joypurhat. She also had a solar panel installed on the top of an electric pole, Photo: Star

Kongkon Karmaker with Andrew Eagle

As many graduates of village schooling know, studying by the light of a kerosene lamp is not ideal. While in more recent years solar has arrived, for the poorest families solar panels can prove cost prohibitive. But in three villages of Joypurhat's Panchbibi upazila, even students from the poorest families routinely study under the brighter, solar powered tube lights, thanks to the philanthropic kindness of one woman.
Meftahul Jannat Likhan grew up in Bandighi village in Joypurhat's Kalai upazila and was married while she studied in class VII. She knows about disruption to study.
These days she resides in Iraqnagar of Joypurhat town where her daughter time to time suffers in her schooling from power shortages. “When the electricity goes, it's disturbing for my daughter,” says Likhan, “It made me properly consider the difficult circumstances facing students from those families which, since the country's independence, have never had electricity at home.”
Indeed in the three villages of Panchbibi that Likhan has taken under her wing, there are many such families. The villages are remote and beyond the national grid.
It is not only her home life that turned Likhan's thoughts to the value of electricity to students. Four years ago she established a solar power sales centre called Mega Solar Super Power House in Joypurhat town, and she found that many people from remote areas visited her shop every day with dreams of owning a solar panel. But for many the prices were out of reach.
“Many villagers walk away empty-handed when they hear the prices,” she says.
Likhan decided that at least for some she could do something to help: two years ago on her own initiative she installed solar panels in Khasbatra village of Panchbibi. Subsequently, she installed panels in two neighbouring villages -- Hathatpara and Rasulpur -- as well.
“So far, 148 of the poorest families in the three villages have free connections,” says Joypurhat municipality Mayor Mostafizur Rahman Mostaque. “It's courtesy of Meftahul Jannat Likhan.”
The system is designed in such a way that from several larger solar plants connections bring electricity to individual residences. “Initially it was enough for a light only, in each home,” says Likhan whose thoughts have always centred on students' homework.
Naturally, the villagers who have benefited from her generosity are elated. According to the chairman and local council members who helped install the systems, village children are reading books more often and with greater enthusiasm thanks to the better illumination.
“We even save on kerosene costs!” laughs householder Rubina of Hathatpara.
The gift of electricity is especially welcome given that for the past 45 years politicians have routinely pledged to connect the area to the Bangladesh Power Development Board's grid, but inevitably failed to deliver.
“Her efforts are well-appreciated,” says Joypurhat journalist Momen Moony who visited the villages recently. Nowadays, the three villages are collectively called “Solargram”, the solar village, says Moony.
It is an initiative Likhan says came from her inner heart, from concern that the children of the poorest families should have fair opportunity to pursue their school careers. “Children can be so demoralised if they are trying to study without electricity,” she says. “I hope to provide electricity to more villages in the future!”
But of course even with the brightest solar light, reading cannot proceed without books. To this end, last month, Likhan visited her Solargram with bundles of children's books to be distributed for free.