Geologist MA Zaher dies

MA Zaher, a geologist of international repute and former director general of Geological Survey of Bangladesh (GSB), died due to old age complications at his Gulbagh residence in Dhaka on Sunday night. He was 85.

Zaher, also a former teacher of Dhaka University's soil science department, left behind his wife, three sons and three daughters. He was buried in Shahjahanpur graveyard in the city. Zaher earned repute for him and the country particularly through his 1977 discovery of a mineral, Zaherite, which is unlikely to persist anywhere except in most arid environments. The International Mineralogical Association (IMA) named it after him.

Hailed from Banchharampur upazila of Brahmanbaria, he played a crucial role in providing technical and strategic supports to freedom fighters during the Liberation War.