Visitors at an exhibition titled “Stress” by artist Arup Barua at the district Shilpakala Academy in the port city of Chittagong on October 16. Star Photo

'Maintain quality of product'
Speakers at a seminar here on Sunday stressed the need for maintaining standard of commodities and services to ensure better services for the people from all walks of life.
Urging the entrepreneurs to produce quality products, they said all businessmen should maintain standard of commodities for creating goodwill of Bangladeshi products in the world market.
In observance of the 42nd World Standard Day, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) organised the seminar titled “International standards: Creating confidence globally” in the auditorium of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI).
CCCI Senior Vice-President Mahbubul Alam Chowdhury addressed the seminar as the chief guest with BSTI Deputy Director SM Ishaque Ali in the chair.
Dean of Biological Science Faculty of Chittagong University Prof Dr Md Nurul Anwar, CCCI Director Mahfuzul Alam Shah and BSTI Deputy Directors Pankaj Kumar Kunda and Md Rezaul Karim also spoke at the seminar.
Speakers said without maintaining standard of products and services there is no alternative to fighting the challenges of globalisation.
Mahbubul said the business community should come forward to reach quality products and services the door steps of mass people.
Prof Nurul said people are frequently attracted to buy some substandard products due to lucrative advertisements. He urged the BSTI and the authorities concerned to enforce the laws strictly to stop marketing of those substandard products.
Call to amend Article 70
Awami League lawmaker Nurul Islam Bsc at a roundtable on Saturday called upon the government to amend Article 70 of the constitution related with floor crossing of the lawmakers.
“The article has created obstruction to freedom of speech of lawmakers”, he said, adding that no member of parliament can give opinion against his or her own party due to the law.
He was addressing as the chief guest the roundtable titled “Role of civil society creating accountability of lawmakers”.
Democracy Watch, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working on human rights, organised the roundtable in Abdul Khalek auditorium of Chittagong Press Club (CPC) in the city.
Democracy Watch Chittagong representative Mohammad Hamidul Islam Shamim moderated the roundtable where Prof Dr Nijam Uddin of Political Science Department of Chittagong University (CU) read out the key-note paper.
Jatiya Party Presidium Member Solaiman Alam Sheth, BNP city unit General Secretary Dr Shahadat Hossain, Lion Hasina Khan, ward councillors Mohammad Giusuddin, Monwara Begum Moni, Bangladesh Garments Printing Association Vice President Md Kaisar Rijbhi and Advocate Saifuddin Siddique spoke at the roundtable.
Workshop on reproductive health held
Women should come forward by themselves to establish their rights, said former BGMEA director A N M Saifuddin.
He was speaking at a workshop on 'Development of reproductive health, rights to reproductive health, gender equality and women empowerment” at BGMEA Health Center-2 in Muradpur of the port city.
BGMEA and UNFPA jointly organised the workshop on Saturday.
He said to raise awareness among the women about good health, family planning and reproductive health, such kind of workshops is very important.
A total of 30 garment workers participated in the workshop.
'Stop extrajudicial killing'
Speakers at a seminar said the law enforcement agencies should take proper steps to stop extrajudicial killings and unexpected disappearance of any person in the country.
They urged all conscious people to come forward and stand unitedly against the extrajudicial killings and assumed abduction and disappearance.
Odhikar, a non governmental organisation (NGO), organised the seminar on “International convention for protection of all from enforced disappearance' at Hotel Agrabad in the port city.
The seminar was told that a total of 17 people disappeared in the country in 2010. Terming it a crime, the speakers urged all to work together to stop the assumed abductions and disappearance.
Lawmaker Mainuddin Khan Badal spoke at the seminar as the chief guest while human rights activist Mohammad Sajid Hossain read out a key-note paper. Odhikar General Secretary Adilur Rahman Khan presided over the seminar.
City Awami League Vice-President Naimuddin Chowdhury, BNP city unit General Secretary Dr Shahdat Hossain, Communalist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) district General Secretary Comrade Shah Alam, Chittagong Union of Journalists' (CUJ) General Secretary Najimuddin Shyamal, Chittagong Bar Association President Advocate Saleh Uddin Haidar Siddiquee, Chairman Morshedul Islam of Communication and Journalism Department of Chittagong University (CU), Workers Party leader Raja Miyan and Gono Sanghati Coordinator Hasan Maruf Rumi also spoke at the event.
White Cane Safety Day observed
Chittagong University Vice-Chancellor Prof Md Anwarul Azim Arif urged the challenged students of the university not to get frustrated and go forward to overcome all the obstacles.
Prof Azim was addressing a discussion in the CU central library auditorium on Sunday. Disable Students' Society of CU (DISSCU) organised the discussion marking the 'World White Cane Safety Day-2011' in association with Centre for Disability in Development (CDD) and Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF).
Zohirul Islam, former DISSCU president, put forward some demands to the university authorities at the meeting, including seats reservation for the challenged students in CU transports, participation in all cultural activities, increase in quota in faculties, increase the Braille equipment in the corner for the challenged students of the central library and create jobs in the university for the challenged students after completion of their studies.
Dr Mohammad Hanif Siddique, S M Manirul Hasan and Madhob Chandra Das spoke at the meeting as the special guests with DISSCU President Abdul Malek in the chair.