Right to information: Way forward

RIGHT to information or freedom of information is a fundamental human right. In 1946, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 59(1) stating: “Freedom of Information is a fundamental human right….” Freedom of information depends on the degree of access to information. There are many reasons why right to information is very important. Among them, most notable are; creating a more open and democratic society, reducing poverty (achieving the Millennium Development Goals), curbing corruption and enhancing transparency.
There can be no democratic participation in decision making without transparency and sharing of information. Effective anti-poverty programmes require accurate information on problems hindering development to be in the public domain. Due to freedom of information people can understand the political map and can give their views on decision making process, which will help to balance the unequal power dynamic. The right to information is therefore central to the achievement of the MDGs.
Corruption has a pernicious effect on less developed countries. It discourages foreign investment and eats away at the budgets allocated to public procurements. It causes social unrest due to the division it creates between those who have easy access to goods and services and those who remain excluded. If the public administration publishes regular accounts incidents of corrupt activity will decrease as the details will one day come to light.
In the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Articles 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40 give the freedom of movement, assembly, association, thought and speech, respectively, but there is no article in the constitution providing freedom of information or right to access information. Nevertheless, after huge demand from civil society, the Right To Information Act (RTIA) was enacted to define public information and give citizens the right to access it. The law was fully effective in 2009. It was passed during the then caretaker government and adopted by the subsequently elected parliament under the Awami League.
This law lays out the rules by which citizens can ask for information, and an appeals procedure if they are not satisfied with the government response. According to the law, a citizen can file a request to the Designated Officer (DO) of government, non-government and autonomous bodies. Citizens can ask for information or for inspection of documents, through an application which includes the applicant’s name, address, correct and clear description of the information requested, any additional information to help locate the information, and instruction on how he/she would like to get the information—on paper and/or electronic copies.
According to the law the DO is compelled to provide the information immediately. But if it is not available the RTIA gives the DO 20 working days. If the information is held by two or more agencies, the DO has 30 working days. For appeals and complaints, agencies have 15 calendar days to consider an appeal, and the Information Commission has between 45 and 75 calendar days to give a decision. For violation of the law the DO or the personnel concerned will be fined maximum Tk.5,000, or he may asked to fulfill the loss occurred, or any other disciplinary action can be taken.
However, as an Asian Development Bank Scholar, I had an opportunity to stay in Hong Kong for about two and half years. I had the opportunity to closely observe their freedom of information practice. Since March 1995, they have had a “Code on Access to Information.” This code defines the scope of information that will be provided, sets out how the information will be made available, either routinely or in response to a request, and lays down procedures governing its prompt release. Two aspects are included in the code; proactive disclosure and information upon request.
Under proactive disclosure, government organisations are compelled to publish their documents yearly and make them available. The code compels them to arrange public inspection programmes at appropriate locations. Simultaneously, citizens have the right to get desired information upon verbal or written request. The main point is that our RTIA focuses only one aspect, and that is providing information upon request. Though, in Section 6 of RTIA, information disclosure by the authorities is mentioned, indication of how exactly the information will be made available for the public is missing. The Act calls for yearly publication of documents by the authorities. But how will the publications be made available for the public proactively? The method for doing so is not mentioned in the RTIA.
To go forward it is important to ensure proper implementation of the RTIA. To achieve this, each and every organisation should make arrangements for adequate training of DOs on RTIA. Civil society and the government bodies need to launch campaigns to raise awareness among the citizens about their right to information as well as the process of getting the desired information.
On the other hand, the most important part (learning from Hong Kong RTI code) is that the Bangladesh government needs to focus on proactive disclosure mechanism as well. Section 6 of the RTI A needs to be amended by adding proactive disclosure methods, such as arrangement of public inspection programmes routinely at some particular locations, etc.
September 28 is International Right to Know Day, which was established by access to information advocates from around the globe. It was first observed in 2003. The aim of Right to Know Day is to raise awareness of every individual’s right of access to government held information, and to know how elected officials are exercising power and how tax payers’ money is being spent. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) is arranging “information fair” at 45 districts to observe Right to Know Day, 2013. All are welcome to the fairs to know more and to give their valuable opinions to foster Right to Information.

Tackling tragedy under the wheel

THERE is a heated debate going on over whether or not to treat deaths caused by speedy and rash driving as murder. Legally speaking, culpable homicide, that is punishable killing of man is murder, if the act by which death is caused is done with the intention of causing death; or, if it is done with the intention of causing such bodily injury as the offender knows to be likely to cause the death of the person to whom the harm is caused; or, if it is done with the intention of causing bodily injury to any person and the bodily injury intended to be inflicted is sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death; or, if the person committing the act knows that it is so imminently dangerous that it must, in all probability, cause death, or such bodily injury as is likely to cause death, and commits such act without any excuse for incurring the risk of causing death or such injury as aforesaid.
It might be of interest to the general readers to know that while all murders must necessarily be culpable homicide, but not vice versa. Before an accused can be convicted for murder it would be the duty of the prosecution to prove such intention or knowledge as has been mentioned in the foregoing paragraphs. As long as the prosecution does not prove such intention or knowledge the accused is entitled to an acquittal. It there is a possibility of an accidental death in doubtful circumstances, the appellant offender gets the benefit of doubt.
Under our penal law culpable homicide, that is punishable killing of man, does not automatically amount to murder. In order for the offence to be treated as murder, the case must come within the provisions of the preceding paragraphs. In other words, homicide may be culpable and culpable homicide may or may not amount to murder. Therefore, murder is a special offence of a higher plane and the point to note is the high degree of criminality. Similarly, the burden of proof is much greater in murder.
The point to drive home is that the quarters that, in their justified rage at the pathetic deaths on roads caused by rash driving, are pleading for all such incidents to be treated as murder, may not be legally able to punish the offender. The charge of extreme recklessness causing death, by itself, would not render an act as murder. It must in addition be wholly inexcusable. Where a risk is incurred—even a risk of the gravest possible character which must normally result in death—the taking of that risk will not be murder unless it was inexcusable to take it.
There is a considered view that the offenders causing deaths by rash, negligent and exceedingly speedy driving on the roads may better be charged under section 304A of the Penal Code that says: “Whoever causes the death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both.”
It needs to be noted that our Penal Code punishes three classes of homicide—murder, culpable homicide and homicide by negligence. The degree of criminality in each case depends primarily upon the mentality of the accused, and not upon the nature and effect of the act; death is caused in each case but the nature of criminality in each case differs.
Legal action under Section 304 A against the speeding offenders will be in proper order as criminal rashness would mean hazarding a dangerous or wanton act with the knowledge that it is so, and that it may cause injury, but without intention to cause injury, or knowledge that it will probably be caused. The criminality lies in running the risk of doing such an act with recklessness or indifference as to the consequences.
Criminal negligence would constitute the gross and culpable neglect or failure to exercise that reasonable and proper care and precaution to guard against injury either to the public generally or to an individual in particular, which, having regard to all the circumstances out of which the charge has arisen, it was the imperative duty of the accused person to have adopted.
Since the degree of criminality in each case depends primarily upon the mentality of the accused, and in deciding culpability the amount of care and circumspection to be exercised by a prudent and reasonable man is a determining factor, it might be proper to emphasise on the proactive actions to stall rash and negligent driving instead of disproportionately relying on reactive penal measures.
The truck and bus drivers could be put through an intensive motivational course on the adverse effects of rash and negligent driving. Simultaneously, institutional capacity needs to be augmented to provide adequate skills to potential drivers. The regulatory functions of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) that includes licensing and providing mechanical fitness certificates need to be attended to with due diligence and integrity.

Threatening public servants

WE wonder why Mohammad Nasim, a member of the AL presidium, should take it upon himself to threaten the public servants with dire consequences if they did not perform as per the directives of the government until January 24. In fact he had said that any public servant not doing so would be sent home.We also wonder whether Nasim has the locus standi to make such a threat to the servants of the republic. And even if he had, should he make such remarks? And is he not betraying an innate fear, which may be construed as reflecting the party psyche, that the public servants may not do the government’s bidding when it comes to the crunch? Does he fear another “Janatar Mancha”? And, given the uncertainty about the likely dispensation following the end of the current government’s tenure, will one be remiss to think that by ‘government directives’ Mr. Nasim actually means ‘party directives’?
In spite of the fact that the administration is not free from political influence, we would like to believe that the public servants would conform to their code of conduct and work as per the directives of the government of the day and not of the ruling party.We wonder if Nasim is trying to earn brownie points by making such completely out of turn comments, as he had made before. But in doing so he has displayed complete inability to comprehend the gravity of his comments that have vitiated the political atmosphere even more.

Siddikur in World Cup

Siddikur Rahman has been confirmed as the first Bangladeshi golfer to participate in the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf which will be held at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club from November 21-24, 2013. Siddikur will be one of 13 golfers from Asia to participate in the 8-million-daollar event.Siddikur, who carded a second successive even-par 71 at the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open yesterday, said he was happy with his form and excited to be part of the World Cup.“I’m very excited to represent Bangladesh in the World Cup. This will be the first time that Bangladesh will feature in the World Cup and it’ll be an historic moment. I’ve played in the qualifiers before but have never made it into the event proper, so this is just great,” said the 29-year-old Siddikur.“It will have a great impact for my country. Golf is getting more popular and people do recognise me along the streets back home and I feel proud to be the flagbearer for golf in my country. There’s no shortcut to success. Hard work and more practice will only make me a better player and that is what I strive to do every day.“I’ve definitely developed a lot since I started playing on the Asian Tour. My first win in Brunei was something that I’ll never forget and I always try my best to get that second win on the Asian Tour. Hopefully it’ll not be long before I get my hands on another title again,” added the Bangladeshi, who is currently 17th on the Asian Tour Order of Merit following four top-10s.Meanwhile, Siddikur traded five birdies against five bogeys on the second day of the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open yesterday and was left feeling disappointed that he did not take advantage of the ideal scoring conditions at the Ibaraki Country Club.“To be honest, it was an easy day but I didn’t take advantage of it. It was a long day for me and it was a real rollercoaster ride because I shot five birdies, five bogeys and eight pars!” said Siddikur to Asiantour.com after the day’s play.

Biman to spread wings in India

Biman Bangladesh yesterday said it was aiming at operating flights to several Indian cities, up from two at present, and adding one more flight to Kolkata from next month.It plans to start double dailies from Kolkata by October-end instead of five flights a week now, to enable business travellers from both sides to do their work and return home the same day.Speaking at a press conference at a hotel in New Delhi, Biman’s MD and CEO Kevin John Steele said the airline was considering expanding frequencies to the Indian capital.It was also planning to launch operations to Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai in the next 18 months, he said.Biman now operates only to Kolkata and New Delhi from Dhaka. Indian cities like Guwahati and Bhubaneshwar were also on its radar for turbo-prop aircraft operations.The airline, which has a fleet of eight-aircraft, is in a major expansion spree planning to enhance it to 18 planes in the next two years, Steele said.It would have 12 planes by March next year, he said, adding it was also “gracefully retiring” four aged DC-10 aircraft, one of which would go to a US aviation museum.The airline, which now has two each of Boeing 777-300s, 737-800s aircraft, Airbus A-310s and DC-10s, would induct more B-777s, apart from having six Boeing 787 Dreamliners on order for deliveries by 2018, Steele said.Biman was also considering using India as a “stop-over” to fly to “under-served” markets like Iraq and Afghanistan, utilising Fifth Freedom rights, he told newsmen.These rights allow an airline to stop in a foreign country, pick up passengers from there and move on to a second country.Steele said his mandate was to turnaround the loss-making airline into a profitable entity by 2014-15 and “we are expecting to break even this fiscal” after making losses of $75 million and $25 million in 2011 and 2012 respectively.Biman hopes to go into profit mode in 2014-15, and the airline was not looking for any financial bailout from the Bangladesh government to overcome its losses and its debt, he said.Biman has had a major problem of providing customer care service in terms of punctuality of its flights.The punctuality was 39 percent last year but this year it has already gone up to 70 percent, he said, adding European airlines’ normal punctuality rate is 75-80 percent.Bangladesh government has agreed to allow Biman to go in for an initial public offer (IPO) after attaining profitability and is providing sovereign guarantee for its aircraft fleet expansion plans.

Power import begins

The much-talked about power import from India began on trial basis yesterday by adding 50 megawatts to the national grid.The 50MW electricity was supplied around 10:45am to a sub-station of Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) in Bheramara in Kushtia.

The load was raised up to 175MW by 5:00pm when it was suspended for a detailed technical study on the both sides of the border, said Kazi Ishtiak Hasan, project director (in-charge) of Grid Interconnection between Bangladesh (Bheramara) and India (Baharampur).
He said initially 50 to 175MW electricity will be imported and supplied to national grid every day till October 5, when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh will switch on the supply from respective sides through a teleconference.
After the inauguration, the transmission will be increased up to 250MW, and 500 MW at the end of November.
PGCB Adviser PK Roy, Managing Director Chowdhury Alamgir Hossain and Deputy General Manager of Power Grid Corporation of India Kalim Akhter, among others, were present at the Bheramara substation at the time of importing electricity.
A number of Kushtia people, including businessmen, talking to this correspondent expressed satisfaction over the electricity import and hoped it would help ease the load shedding they have been facing.
PGCB has set up the substation on 112 acres of land at Gopinathpur in Bheramara with link to substation at Baharampur in West Bengal.
The Bheramara substation is capable of both importing and exporting electricity from and to India.
A 125-kilometre transmission line has been constructed between Bheramara and Baharampur. Of this line, 40km fell inside Bangladesh.
Prime Minister’s Energy Adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury on Wednesday said India would start a test supply of 250 MW of power by Friday, with commercial supply beginning on October 5.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the two countries in 2010 on import of a total of 500 MW power from India.
Half of this power will be coming from the Indian central government electricity quota and the rest from its open market.
The total amount of electricity, to be imported under a 35-year contract, is expected to improve the country’s power crisis situation now being tackled through costly but short-term rental power plants.
The tariff along with the wheeling charge of the power imported will be between a little less than Tk 6 and Tk 6.35 per kilowatt-hour or unit.
The rate ranges between Tk 7.5 and Tk 22 per unit for the rental power plants and between Tk 2.5 and Tk 4.8 per unit for the large local gas-fired power plants
.

Gas crisis deepens

Surging illegal consumption together with spiralling demand on the one hand and a slight drop in production on the other has created an unusual gas crisis in the capital in recent weeks.When production is expected to increase keeping pace with a 10 percent annual growth in demand, the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd is actually getting lesser gas this September than that in the corresponding period last year, mainly because a gas field in Fenchuganj has been shut down for maintenance.Petrobangla sources say the country’s largest gas distributor has seen a daily shortfall of 20 million cubic feet (mmcf) this month, compared to the past few months and also September last year. And it is the domestic users and the CNG pumps that are bearing the brunt of this.Such a shortfall, however, should not have been that big since Titas deals with more than 1,400 mmcfd gas — more than half the country’s gas distribution. But a top official of the company says this 20 mmcfd is on top of a steady shortfall of 200 mmcfd gas within the Titas areas.“Everything is so tight that a little drop in supply causes the gas pressure to drop,” he said.The Fenchuganj field is expected to resume operation in mid-October, and the situation is not likely to improve before that.But utter lawlessness prevails centring on illegal gas connections, which are contributing much to the problem.“Through surveys and field information, we gather that there is massive pilferage of gas in Rupganj, Siddhirganj, Keraniganj, Araihazar, Sonargaon, Savar, Dhaka Beribadh, Mirpur, Nandipara and Matuail,” said the Titas high official.But Titas officials are unable to disconnect the illegal lines. Mobs, backed by local influential people who help install these illegal lines, even beat up Titas officials when they go there to disconnect the lines. A general manager of Titas was assaulted and had to be hospitalised for 10 days in recent months.“We face unusual resistance even when magistrates, Rab personnel and other law enforcers are with us,” said the official, citing the instance of a mob chasing a Titas team in Rupganj recently.In the face of a shortfall in production, the government in mid-2010 imposed a ban on new gas connection. Earlier this year, the Petrobangla chairman hammered on lifting the ban, saying there were many consumers who took connections illegally and they should be regularised. The government lifted the ban, saying the illegal consumers would be legalised first and that new applications would be considered later.This announcement encouraged thousands more to obtain illegal lines. Eventually, so far, nearly 1,75,000 illegal consumers have been regularised.
“But we found that there were still many users in underdeveloped areas. People there even use PVC pipes to drain out gas, which is very dangerous,” said the Titas official.
Sometimes Titas employees and contractors were found involved in this illegal practice. Of late,Titas blacklisted four contractors and transferred two of its employees in this connection.
In addition to this problem, the age-old distribution lines have developed leakages in many areas of the capital. Titas is unable to replace those for lack of funds.While some Petrobangla officials argue that the gas shortfall has been triggered by its excessive use in the power sector, the reality is many power plants are producing less power than their capacity due to gas shortage.“Gas supply to power sector remains around 489 mmcf per day. It did not increase much compared to that in last year,” said the Titas official.

S&T-dependent projects require government support

IN order to become a middle-income country Bangladesh must become proficient in science and technology (S&T). However, due of shortage of adequate resources and infrastructure, Bangladesh cannot aim to be internationally competitive and productive in all areas of research simultaneously. In order to improve research productivity and proficiency, it needs to develop new national initiatives in a limited number of priority areas where there is greatest need and also existing strength and potential.
The problems to be tackled need to be determined through a national priority exercise, and are likely to include emerging areas such as adaptation of agricultural crops to adverse effects of climate change, development of new sources of environment-friendly energy, and preserving and harnessing of its biodiversity for the discovery and development of new medicines, biofuels and other high value products. Unless Bangladesh becomes internationally competitive in focused areas of research to solve its own problems, the agenda for growth and sustainability will continue to be externally driven.
One of the biggest obstacles to sustainable knowledge-based economic development in Bangladesh is the huge research and development (R&D) chasm that exists between initial discovery and its final commercial or social outcome. This serious structural deficiency can’t be overcome by supporting only late stage commercial research and importation of technology for that purpose. There must be very strong support for fundamental and developmental research in universities and research centres preceding commercialisation. Necessary contemporary technologies and expertise, including access to web-based knowledge and interactions, must also be established.
The UGC, with funding from the World Bank, has in recent times established a high speed internet network, Bangladesh Research and Education Network (BdREN), that connects all the universities in Bangladesh to the Trans Eurasian Cable Network, and provides access to the Digital Library established at the UGC initially with 2,500 e-journals and a few thousand e-books. This is likely to improve postgraduate research capacity in Bangladesh.
A number of critical steps will help to build scientific proficiency and encourage innovation and technology transfer in Bangladesh. Funding for postgraduate and postdoctoral research and training must be greatly expanded with emphasis on intellectual property development in addition to quality publications. “Sandwich PhD” programmes could be set up with the participation of non-resident Bangladeshi (NRB) scientists to access high-end technology not currently available in Bangladesh.
Internationally competitive “research universities,” “centres of excellence” within and outside academia, and national “core facilities” (discipline-specific technology platforms) need to be established as regional and national research and technology hubs. Substantial funding must be provided to multidisciplinary and multi-institutional collaborative research in areas of highest national priority. Partnerships need to be developed with local industry for commercialisation of research outcomes and for industry support to strategic and development research in academic and research institutions.
None of the above is possible without political will and the coordinated and active support of the government. Both higher education and research are expensive, and the allocation of a mere 0.4% of GDP for national R&D is far too low as it constitutes only a fifth of what is deemed to the minimum required for building scientific proficiency in developing countries. The first task is to increase the level of funding for higher education which at the moment only constitutes a small fraction of the already inadequate budget allocation for the entire education sector. Since most of the meagre higher education budget is used up in meeting salary, administrative and infrastructure costs, it is important that a defined portion be clearly demarcated and ring-fenced for postgraduate research and innovation.
For Bangladesh to become internationally competitive in S&T the allocation of funds for R&D has to be increased and its use rationalised. Innovative priority research in Bangladesh could be coordinated and funded through a National Research Council (NRC) whose focus would be on supporting postgraduate and postdoctoral research, providing the necessary equipment and resources required for internationally competitive research, encouraging innovation through technology transfer, IP support and interactions with industry, liaison with international research funding agencies, and developing South-South academic and research collaborations in areas of common interest between “centres of excellence” in Bangladesh and those in neighbouring and OIC member countries. The proposed NRC could be placed together with the existing UGC within a new Higher Education Commission (HEC) where the NRC would be responsible for postgraduate research and innovation, and the UGC could continue to concentrate on the management of undergraduate education, and technical and vocational training.
The NRC could support national priority projects by selective and substantial competitive funding through National Collaborative Research Programme (NRCP) that would only be available for multidisciplinary and multi-institutional collaborations between academic research centres, government research laboratories and industry partners. Both the NRC and the NRCP would greatly benefit from the establishment of an International Scientific Advisory Committee consisting of local and expatriate experts of international standing.
Participation in the NCRP could also help to deploy adequate numbers of full time researchers in government research laboratories into partnerships with universities and industry. This could be a very cost-effective model for bringing together different partners with complementary strengths and expertise to greatly enhance research productivity. As a country with scarce resources, but with great intellectual potential of its young workforce, Bangladesh could greatly benefit from adopting the above proposals for the coordination and meaningful funding of S&T-dependent priority research projects

Bangladesh cannot survive without the Sundarbans

SUNDARBANS, the largest mangrove forest in the world, is a living and most effective natural fence protecting the coastal belt areas. It indeed saved us from the devastation of cyclones Sidr and Aila in the recent past. Not only so, it is the forest that offers various sources of livelihood to more than five hundred thousand local inhabitants.
Unfortunately, the Sundarbans is now in danger because the government is moving ahead to install a coal-based thermal power plant at Rampal with the capacity of producing 1,320 MW of electricity. The plant will be located only 9 km away from the Sundarbans, and will cover 1,834 acres of land. The government has been justifying the location of the project on the ground that it is at a ‘safe’ distance from the mangrove forest.
The proposed plant will require 13,000 tons of coal. This huge amount of coal will be transported through the Possur river that runs deep into the Sundarbans and flows around its adjacent areas. It is well known that the large ships carrying coal, the turbines, the compressors, the pumps, the generators and the cooling towers of the power plant will create a lot of sound, which will inevitably have a fatal effect on the biodiversity of the forest. Moreover, the river will be helplessly exposed to coal wastes. This description is not enough to perceive the potential devastation the Possur river is more likely to be confronting soon, given the fact that the operation of the power plant will not be short-term.
More dangerously, the power plant will require withdrawal of 9,150 cubic meter of water per hour from the Possur river for its functioning. The extraction of such massive volume of water will undoubtedly mess up the natural organisms of the river systems of Sibsha and Possur that provide the lifeline to the Sundarbans. In addition to this, the proposed plant will have a coal stockyard and a dust disposal pond along the boundary of the Possur river.
It is difficult to imagine what will happen to the river when a ‘mountain’ of more than seven hundred thousand tons of fly-ash and two hundred thousand tons of bottom ash are released as soon as the plant starts functioning. These contain hazardous and toxic chemicals such as arsenic, mercury, lead, nickel, and radium. There will also be regular emission of some 142 tons of sulfur dioxide and 85 tons of nitrogen dioxide. So many toxic substances are enough to slowly eat up the world’s largest mangrove forest.
The very first victim of this proposed power plant would be the Possur river, a major source of water in the Sundarbans. Any damage to any network of the rivers or any water channel that flows in and around this forest means eventual death for it. It is neither realistic nor scientific to think of the Sundarbans in isolation of its river network and the overall eco-systems. It is, thus, futile to rationalise the location of the proposed power plant in terms of its distance from the Sundarbans! Whatever the distance of the project is, if any part of the eco-system gets damaged, the Sundarbans will anyhow get endangered.
It is also important to note that the Possur river and its adjacent confluence of Maidara and Chinkura rivers are home for at least 120 types of fishes that include hilsha, parshe, bhetki, taposhi, and even tulardandi. The slightest harm to the river will not only push those indigenous fish species into extinction, but will also destroy the livelihood of the fishermen belonging to the low income group. Not to mention the extinction of the Iraboti dolphins.
Moreover, the massive land acquisition programme of the government for undertaking this Rampal project has already displaced the local poor people from their own residences. As many as 4,000 families have been compelled to migrate to other places.
As far as the commercial prospects of the plant are concerned, it is important to understand the market vulnerability and volatility involving the import price of the coal. The availability of ‘high quality’ coal depends on international price, and the transportation costs will be very high. The availability of coal in the international market is not also predictable. Thus, it is most likely that the electricity to be produced in this plant will end up being highly expensive.
Against such a grim commercial prospect, the Indian company NTPC has been successful in ensuring a major share of the profit pie. Its total direct investment is not more than 15%, while it will enjoy 50% ownership over the power plant. More oddly, Bangladesh will have to bear the brunt of environmental and social disasters. However, these catastrophes will go beyond Bangladesh territory and cause destruction to the part of the Sundarbans falling in India.
Interestingly, the Indian government does not allow construction of such plants in its own territory. Their recently enacted ‘EIA guidelines for thermal power plant 2010′ forbids this kind of development activity within 25 km of the officially declared forest boundaries. The Indian government is unfortunately violating its own law at Rampal taking advantage of the loopholes that exist in Bangladesh forest laws.
There are some Bangladesh policy makers who claim that the employment of some ‘super critical technology’ in the Rampal power plant will reduce the environmental pollution. However, there is an argument that this ‘super critical technology’ can reduce pollution at best by 10%. Under the circumstances, one might ask if ‘super critical technology’ is so efficient in tackling environmental degradation, why is India not exploiting this technology in its own land to produce electricity within the permitted distance from forest boundaries?
The government of Bangladesh flouted the basic rules while taking over local land for the proposed plant. They did so well before taking site clearance certificate from the Department of Environment of Bangladesh. Similarly, the EIA report has been released only after they have done all the needful at Rampal in the last 2/3 years. The EIA report prepared by the CEGIS for its client Bangladesh Power Development Board is ambiguous, whimsical, and unjustifiably optimistic. During the public hearing on the project the participants called for cancellation of the report, but that went unnoticed.
There are also people who argue that the plant would generate massive employment and help save the Sundarbans from encroachment as the proposed project would reduce livelihood pressure of the local people. The truth is, the Forest Department along with some environmental and conservation NGOS, since 2009, have been implementing or have already implemented at least ten foreign donors’ funded projects, including the Integrated Protected Area Co-Management (2010-2013), and Sundarbans Environmental and Livelihood Security (2010-2014).
The major objective of all these projects is to generate sources of alternative livelihood for the forest-dependent poor people. Thus, the question is, why do we still need to have a power plant to save the Sundarbans from the ‘clutches’ of the poor despite the presence of those projects? The claim that the poor communities living in the forest area grab land for their livelihood does not have any merit.
The irony is, those who have been resisting the environmentally degrading power plant are being dubbed either as ‘anti-development’ or as ‘utopians.’ This is in fact not a new phenomenon. A common perception is that this group of people does not have any clue about any alternative, nor has any idea of how to economically advance the country. To these so-called ‘messiahs’ of development, the effort to save nature is only a luxury that Bangladesh cannot afford at this moment. Their preferred strategy of development is to “pollute first, and clean up later.” But while advocating such strategy, they forget that the philosophy of modern development has undergone a fundamental shift in the last few decades.
Tracking the global ruins of ‘modernisation’ and traditional ‘development,’ the new generation of development scholars argues that the environment and development are inseparable; their interconnection is no longer a mere fantasy. They understand development as an integrative term. To them, development ignoring social and environmental concerns is indeed an emblem of narrow and visionless thoughts.
We do not require rocket science to understand the potential risks of developing Dhaka city compromising with the long term necessity of conserving the Buriganga river and the other important water bodies. Why are we sacrificing those precious gifts of nature for urban ‘development’? Dhaka is now the second most uninhabitable city on earth!
There are many alternatives ways of energy production, but the Sundarbans is unique. It is neither a village nor a residential area. It is a government-declared ecologically critical area, World Heritage site, as well as a Ramsar site that requires extra caution and protection. This is also not a property that belongs only to Bangladesh; it is a natural asset of the whole of mankind. We expect that good sense of official policy makers of both Bangladesh and India will prevail and they will take all the needful measures to cancel the Rampal power plant to save the Sundarbans, the living defender, to protect Bangladesh from cyclones and other disasters.

KL to recruit 10,000 by next year

Malaysia will hire 10,000 Bangladeshi workers by next year for its plantation sector, not 1.4 million as interpreted by some Malaysian newspapers.The country’s Deputy Human Resources minister Ismail Abd Muttalib yesterday clarified this in parliament when a lawmaker asked him about the number of Bangladeshis to be hired.The confusion was created when some Malaysian dailies last month reported that the country would start hiring 1.4 million Bangladeshis in phases from 2014, misinterpreting a visiting Bangladeshi minister who said 1.4 million Bangladeshis had applied for the jobs.“The 1.4 million is actually the number of Bangladeshis who applied to their government to seek jobs overseas,” reports Malaysian English daily The Star quoting Muttalib as saying.He added the government was actually seeking to bring in 10,000 Bangladeshi workers to work in oil palm plantations in Peninsular Malaysia.“As of September 23, a list of 8,703 applicants was provided by the Bangladesh government to police and Immigration Department. From these, 2,288 have been filtered and 75 were found to have criminal records,” he said.Ismail said recruitment of workers from Bangladesh was stringent and only three out of 10 companies that had applied for workers had received approval.“We approved 200 workers for Sime Darby Plantations, 262 for UP Plantations and 683 for Kulim Plantations, bringing the total number of Bangladeshi workers approved [so far] to 1,145,” he said.Contacted, Bangladesh High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur AKM Atiqur Rahman said he had conveyed to the Malaysian deputy human resources minister that it was really a misinterpretation of some local newspapers.“During a visit to Kuala Lumpur last month, our expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment minister informed the Malaysian minister that more than 1.4 million Bangladeshis had registered for jobs abroad,” he told The Daily Star over the phone.The envoy could not immediately clarify the Malaysian minister’s statement on 75 jobseekers having criminal records.He however claimed those candidates might have tried to enter Malaysia illegally and their records were with the Malaysian authorities.

Help regain GSP

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the US business leaders to pursue their government to withdraw the decision on revoking Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) for Bangladeshi goods.The GSP suspension, instead of ensuring GSP compliance and workers’ welfare, will affect the interests of Bangladeshi workers, she said.The premier made the remarks while talking to a delegation of US-Bangladesh Working Group of US Chamber of Commerce at her hotel suite in New York on Thursday.PM’s Media Adviser Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury briefed reporters after the meeting.Hasina said the suspension of GSP facility in the name of safety, workers’ welfare and compliance was not justified.The reason for the suspension because of a few accidents was also not justified. “Such industrial accidents are frequently taking place in different parts of the world even in the developed countries.”The present government has taken steps for increasing the salaries and benefits of garment workers, she said.She told the delegation about her government’s steps taken for providing financial support to the families of dead people and injured garment workers after the collapse of Rana Plaza.The US delegation said they wanted to resolve the problems relating to GSP as they think, the decision on suspension of GSP was not proper on policy grounds.Hoping that the suspension order would be withdrawn soon, the chamber leaders said they had already conveyed their opinion to the US government.The US trade leaders gave emphasis on high level dialogue between business and government leaders to promote trade and investment with Bangladesh, Iqbal Sobhan told reporters.The US delegation appreciated the leadership of Hasina in promoting US-Bangladesh trade and investment relations.They also apprised her that they wanted to develop a state level dialogue between business and government leaders.Pointing out their investment in power sector, energy sector and offshore drilling in Bangladesh, they said the US companies were conducting seismic survey in the energy sector.They hoped that through the seismic survey, they would discover new oil and gas reserves in Bangladesh.Appreciating the intension of the US business leaders, Hasina said her government believes in private sector-driven economy where the government plays the role of a facilitator.She said her government has opened up some sectors, including power and telecommunications, for competitive private and foreign investment.“Our government’s policy is to put in place a liberalised investment policy in Bangladesh,” she told the delegation.The premier also said the present government had attached importance to regional connectivity, and foreign investors would get benefit of regional business if they invest in Bangladesh.At the meeting, Hasina requested the Boeing representative to take all measures to complete the supply procedure of two Boeing aircraft by December next for which Bangladesh had already issued a buying order.The US chamber leaders said Bangladesh is a growing market for US products and a good importer of raw materials.So they feel that the relationship between Bangladesh and the USA in the areas of trade, commerce and investment should be promoted further.They also said the US chamber was considering a business dialogue this year like the previous year, and a delegation would visit Bangladesh soon to formalise the procedure.They handed over a report on “USA and Bangladesh toward the Future: Policy Recommendation to Strengthen the US-Bangladesh Commercial Relationship” to the premier.Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and President of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, among others, were present during the meeting.

Govt ignoring own interest for India

Ignoring Bangladesh’s interests to protect India’s, the government is deceiving people with assurances that the Rampal power plant project in Bagerhat will do no harm to the Sundarbans, situated some 14 kilometres away, stated green activists yesterday.Addressing a press conference the National Committee to Protect the Sundarbans organised in the capital’s Dhaka Reporters Unity, they called upon the government to scrap the project, the foundation stone of which is scheduled to be laid next month.A long march organised by the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports over the demand started off from Dhaka on Tuesday and is scheduled to reach Rampal today.Eminent columnist Syed Abul Moksud said any contract going against the country’s interest should not be implemented.“If the project is implemented, the Sundarbans will lose its beauty and be renamed as ugly forest,” he said. Sundarbans literally translates as “beautiful forest”.Shushashoner Janney Nagarik Secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar said the government, adamant on implementing the project ignoring public demands, was acting like a monarchy.“If the government claims itself democratic, it will certainly take a decision based on everybody’s demand,” he said.Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association Chief Executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan said an acceptable environment impact assessment (EIA) report should be prepared under the supervision and with the engagement of unbiased foreign experts.Dhaka University Prof Asif Nazrul said the government was trying to hastily implement the project ahead of the next election to protect India’s interests.Reading out a keynote paper, Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon General Secretary MA Matin said the EIA report was flawed and forecasted that the project’s implementation will lead to the destruction of the Sundar-bans within the next
20 years.

Shatchori

In all my travels I never experienced anything like this. One moment I was walking fine, the next moment my entire left leg and half my thigh had sunk into the mud. It was only by shifting my entire weight on the other foot that I stopped my plunge. I had been walking on the bed of the stream called chhora in Shatchori National Park, taking pictures along the way. The stream was a bare trickle and the sandy ground, though wet, was firm. My guide Haris, who has brought hundreds of visitors here, had asked me to follow his footsteps. He knew the terrain.But I had veered off a little to compose a photograph and here I was, about to be swallowed by the earth.My first thought was “quicksand” and I froze. Haris turned around,  startled. I asked him to hold out the umbrella in his hand so I could grab it and pull myself out. Instead, he    reassured me and offered his hand. Gripping it, I got out of the hole. The rest of the walk was event-free.Shatchori national park, comprising 243 hectares in Habiganj, is only three hours (130 km) from Dhaka. You head towards Sylhet and turn right towardsChunarughat at a roundabout. The park has three walking trails: a  half-hour trail, a one-hour trail and a three-hour trail. I had chosen the three-hour trail.It had drizzled all morning. When I started walking, I realized my umbrella was awkward because it caught on every twig and branch that stuck out into the trail. But it was better than a raincoat because it provided protection for my camera.Off the trail, shooting skyward from the low-growth jungle, were large, tall trees. The trees were not as dense as they were in Lawacherra National Park – apparently many had been cut down in recent years. There were chapalish, dumur, banyan, and variations of jolpai.Chapalish belongs to the jackfruit family, and may be mistaken for a jackfruit tree from afar. Its fruit is the cham kathal which looks like a      miniature jackfruit with smaller cloves that are sour instead of sweet. Some banyans supported fat creepers which spiralled around their trunk.The park also has wildlife: capped langur, hoolock gibbon, fishing cat, wild boar and barking deer. I saw the langurs only; they were friendly and allowed me close. Hoolock gibbons can be tracked following their loud calls, but today, because of the rain, they were quiet. There were numerous insects, including the giant, colourful wood spiders. The park also has many birds including hornbills and trogons. Most birds are high up in the canopy and difficult to photograph. There were, surprisingly, no leeches.While walking and observing the surroundings, I tried to imagine what this forest would have been like in its pristine form. Paradise lost, indeed.My guide was the second I have used from the Nishorgo program, which trains guides to accompany visitors to the national parks of Bangladesh. These guides,           knowledgeable and competent, can make a big difference when one is exploring remote but beautiful places like Shatchori that can hide many dangers

Shuddha Sangeet Proshar Goshthi holds classical music fest

Marking its 400th installment, “Shuddha Sangeet Proshar Goshthi” arranged a two-day (September 25-26) classical music festival at the Bishwa Sahitya Kendra auditorium, Dhaka. The festival, titled “Pratibha Sphuran-18”, featured both classical vocal and instrumental music performances.
Young vocalists Mahima Ahsan Megha and Munia Ahsan Mouri set off the opening day’s (September 25) soiree with a Dhrupad jugalbandi performance set on Raga “Yaman”. The artiste duo presented Chougun loykari with their guru Dr. Mintu Krishna Paul accompanying on harmonium. Dilip Chakrabarty was on Pakhwaj.
Sucharito Shubhanan Rahman on violin and Surhiday Shourja Rahman on sarod presented another jugalbandi recital based on raga “Bhupali”. The young artiste duo, matured in their approach, beautifully performed a folk-themed melody.
Chitra Roy stood out as the performer of the opening day. The promising singer performed Raga “Madhubanti” at the event. Both her sargam taan and akar taanperformance were marvelous. Chitra’s melodious vocal throwing coupled with balanced ragdari seemingly earned hearts of many. The artiste’s guru Aloke Kumar Sen accompanied her on harmonium.
Erina Mallik [of Narail] — a disciple of Badal Pramanik — rendered raga “Jounpuri” at the event. The singer also presented a tarana on the same raga. Among others, Gayatri Barman rendered raga “Bhupali” while Bishal Karim Tannah presented raga “Yaman” on the opening day.
On the second day (September 26), Tasaouf Islam set off the soiree with a khayal performance set on raga “Yaman”. The young artiste beautifully presented the raga. Abir Adnan on violin and Abrar Ahmed on sarod presented a Jugalbandi recital on raga “Chandrakaunsh” while Labdhak Bay Arghya rendered a morning raga “Bhairav”.
Mushrat Mahzabin, a disciple of Anil Kumar Saha, captivated the audience with her performance of an evening raga “Purya Dhaneshree” at the event. Her taan performance was speedy and her presentation of ragdari in the raga was appreciated. Aloke Kumar Sen was on harmonium. Anila Ameer Lami also performed raga “Yaman” while Nawsheen Anjum Islam wrapped up the soiree with performing a melancholic raga “Malkaunsh” at the festival.
SSPG has been working to promote classical music for almost four decades. Apart from arranging monthly programmes, the organisation also holds four grand soirees every year “Pratibha Sphuran” (for artistes aged below 16), “Pratibha Bikash” (between 16-25years), “Pratibha Shondhan” (aged above 30 and established artistes) and the school-based event “Pratibha Prakash”. Besides, a nightlong musical festival is usually held in winter.

Glimpses into a glorious life

When Sarah Begum Kabori first stepped in front of a camera, she was in her early teens. From that day on in 1964 (for the film “Shutorang”), she has come many a mile today; a vastly successful actor, a freedom fighter, a social worker and a public representative. Green Valley Foundation has organised a photo and video clippings exhibition titled “Amarey Tumi Oshesh Korechho – (Thou hast made me endless)” at the Nalinikanta Bhattashali Gallery of Bangladesh National Museum.
The opening ceremony of the exhibition, held yesterday afternoon — was addressed by noted filmmaker Chashi Nazrul Islam, Professor Emeritus Anisuzzaman, ambidextrous writer Syed Shamsul Haq, Kabori herself, and her two sons — Shaker Chisty and Rizwan Chowdhury, also the chairman of Green Valley Foundation.
Writer-researcher Anupam Hayat gave the welcome address, while Rizwan Chowdhury in his speech termed Kabori an “artistic icon” who has devoted her life to working for the people.
Chashi Nazrul Islam hailed Kabori’s “transition from an actress to a leader”, and recounted his working experience with the artiste in “Devdas”. He also recollected that when Dilip Kumar visited Dhaka and saw portions of Chashi Nazrul’s film, he said the Parvati in the film (enacted by Kabori) was better than in his own film.
Shaker Chishty, meanwhile, said while her mother had been “constantly redefining herself” over the decades, she had been a loving mother who took great care of her sons.

  Kabori, in her reaction, said she was grateful for the love over the years, adding that she wants to remain as “the girl next door” in the hearts of her fans forever. An emotional Kabori also expressed her special corner for the bond between a mother and child, and her motivation to work for underprivileged and disabled children, vowing to continue to contribute in making the lives of the less fortunate better.

Syed Shamsul Haq reminisced the making of “Shutorang”, how the debutante duo of director Shubhash Dutta and music director Sattya Saha, along with himself auditioned, cast and groomed the 13-year old Kabori, and how their relationship has gotten closer over the years.
The exhibition features photos of Kabori from her films, her various roles as a politician and social worker, along with personal and family photographs, while a projector outside the hall is also displaying video clippings from her films.

79 Bangladeshis held in Iraq

Seventy-nine Bangladeshis have been lingering in a Kurdistan prison of Iraq for months for illegal trespassing without trial, reported a private Kurd online newspaper.
The Bangladeshi citizens, who mainly used to work for different municipalities as garbage collectors, house cleaners and construction workers, are now on biggest fear that they will be deported to Iran instead of being sent back home, Rudaw English, the online newspaper from autonomous Kurdistan area of Iraq, reported on Friday.
The Kurdistan Region shares a long, porous border with Iran. Authorities say that illegal workers often cross in over that border.As the police officer clangs open the door to the large prison cell in Sulaimani where they are held, the inmates promptly rise to attention, the report said.
“We are waiting for the court order to deport them all back to their country,” says Hiwa Sheikh Ali, head of the detention and deportation center in Sulaimani.
“We have provided for all their needs, such as food and good accommodation,” Ali adds.
In the past several years, due to a booming economy and shortage of local labourers, many foreign workers have flocked to the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq, among them hundreds of Bangladeshis.“I sold my house in order to provide a better life for my family,” says Amjad Ali, one of the detainees, who was appointed by his fellow inmates to speak on their behalf. “Now that they are sending me back empty-handed who is going to answer my family?”
Ali says that he has been held for more than eight months without trial.
“They tell us everyday that we will be seen by a judge, but we now hear that they will deport us to Iran,” he explains.Ali, whose story is much like those of the others for whom he speaks, says he has done nothing wrong. “I need work. My family call me and I tell them that I am in prison and cannot work,” he says, adding that if he and his friends are freed, they would be happy to earn the money for their passage and return home voluntarily.

Workers block road, clash with cops

Apparel workers clashed with law enforcers in the capital’s outskirts Savar and Gazipur Saturday morning to press home their demand for fixing minimum monthly salary to Tk 8,114.
The aggrieved workers claimed that at least 25 of their fellows were injured in the clashes that reported from Chandona intersection of Gazipur Sadar upazila and Kathgora area in Ashulia of Savar.
During the demonstration, which stemmed from the salary hike demand on September 21, the workers also blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway for nearly 30 minutes from 10:40am.
In the meantime, the authorities of six garment units had to suspend the production at their factories for Saturday in the wake of the demonstration in Ashulia area of Savar.
GAZIPUR
The clash ensued in Chandona intersection around 10:40am as police tried to disperse over 5,000 workers charging truncheons when they were protesting blocking the Dhaka-Tangail highway, reports our Gazipur correspondent.
Workers of several garment units including Diganta Sweater Factory hurled brick chips to the law enforcers during the 30 minutes clash.
At one stage, the clash spread to adjacent areas including Itahata.
The workers alleged that at least 20 of their fellows sustained injuries in the clash.
When contacted, Mosharraf Hossain, assistant superintendent of Gazipur Industrial Police, said they had no information about the injuries, reported our Gazipur correspondent.
The road communication however resumed around 11:10am with the intervention of police, facing a disruption of around 30 minutes.
In a separate incident at Molaid in Sreepur upazila, the workers of Hasin Sweater Ltd vandalised their factory around 11:00am.
They staged demonstration for nearly three hours from 8:30am protesting termination of their 20 colleagues.
The workers claimed that the factory owners have fired their fellows on Wednesday as for their alleged involvement with the ongoing movement.
Besides, the workers of SM Knitwear also protested in the morning alleging that the outsiders attacked them when they were demonstrating for salary hike on September 23.
ASHULIA
The authorities of Comsit Composit Knitwear, Sonar Bangla, Z-3 and Cross Wear and two other factories in Kathgara and Kuturia areas of Ashulia shut their production for Saturday as the workers refrained themselves from joining work, said Abdus Sattar, deputy assistant director of Ashulia Industrial Police.
At least five workers were injured during a chase and counter-chase with police when the agitating workers blocked a road at Kathgara Bazar around 9:00am, reports our Savar correspondent quoting witnesses.
Police also charged batons and lobbed several teargas canisters to disperse the demonstrating workers.In retaliation, the workers hurled brick chips, said Md Moniruzzaman, deputy director of Ashulia Industrial Police.