CENSUS OF BENGAL FLORICAN STARTS Kathmandu, 24 April: The study of Khar Majur (Bengal Florican) which is in the list of endangered bird species has been started in Shuklaphanta Wild Life Reserve, RSS reports from Kanchanpur.. This is the second study in the reserve in six years with assistance of the Nepal Bird Studies Association. Earlier such study was carried out in 2007. A seven-member team of technicians from the Bird Association, nature guides and reserve technicians have been engaged in the study in the grasslands of the Shuklaphata and Singhapur Phata for the past three days, said reserve's Main Protection Officer Yubaraj Regmi. The study is also started simultaneously in Koshi Tappu Wild Life Reserve, and Bardiya and Chitwan National Parks. The number of khar majur is supposed increased, as cutting grass has been made stricter in the reserve, he said. The next phase study will start on May 31. In 2007 study, its number was 16-18. It is in the list of nine rare birds as per the National Park Act- 2029 BS and is estimated to be fifty in number in all the four reserves. Nnnn TRUCK WITH HASH IMPOUNDED Kathmandu, 24 April: Police have impounded a truck along with 12 kg hashish from Simbhanjyang along the Tribhuvan Highway today [Wednesdaya’a, RSS reports from Hetauda.. According to the District Police Office, Makawanpur, the hashish was confiscated from the truck (Na 2 Kha 2537) in course of a regular check. The hashish was hidden in the truck heading towards Hetauda from Palung in the district. The driver is Krishna Bahadur Lama, 34, of Agra VDC-4 in Makawanpur, said the Area Police Office, Palung. The truck has been kept at the Area Police office, Palung, said police. Nnnn 100 KILLED IN BANGLADESH BUILDING COLLAPSE Kathmandu, 24 April: An eight-storey block housing garment factories and a shopping center collapsed on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital on Wednesday, killing nearly 100 people and injuring hundreds more, officials saidm Reuters reports from Dhakaa.. Fire fighters and army personnel worked frantically through the day at the Rana Plaza building in Savar, 30 km (19 miles) outside Dhaka, to rescue people trapped in the rubble. Television showed young women workers, some apparently semi-conscious, being pulled from the debris. One fireman told Reuters that about 2,000 people were in the building when the upper floors jolted down on top of each other. Bangladesh's booming garment industry has been plagued by fires and other accidents for years, despite a drive to improve safety standards. In November last year, 112 workers were killed in a blaze at the Tazreen factory in a nearby industrial suburb. "It looks like an earthquake has struck here," said one resident as he looked on at the chaotic scene of smashed concrete and ambulances making their way through the crowds of workers and wailing relatives. "I was at work on the third floor, and then suddenly I heard a deafening sound, but couldn't understand what was happening. I ran and was hit by something on my head," said Zohra Begum a worker at one of the factories. An official at a control room set up to provide information about the missing and injured said that 96 people were confirmed dead and more than 700 were injured. CRACKS IN THE BUILDING Mohammad Asaduzzaman, in charge of the area's police station, said factory owners appeared to have ignored a warning not to allow their workers into the building after a crack was detected in the block on Tuesday. Five garment factories - employing mostly women - were housed in the building, including Ether Tex Ltd., whose chairman told Reuters he was unaware of any warnings not to open the workshops. "There were some crack at the second floor, but my factory was on the fifth floor," said Muhammad Anisur Rahman. "The owner of the building told our floor manager that it is not a problem and so you can open the factory." He said that his firm had been sub-contracted to supply Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, and Europe's C&A. Last November's factory fire put a spotlight on global retailers that source clothes from Bangladesh, where low wages - as little as $37 a month for some workers - have helped propel the country to no. 2 in the ranks of apparel exporters. It emerged later that a Wal-Mart supplier had subcontracted work to the Tazreen factory without authorization. Buildings in the crowded city of Dhaka are sometimes erected without permission and many do not comply with construction regulations. Dozens died when a garment factory collapsed in the same area eight years ago nnnn