Bangladesh is linking with Trans-Asian railway

Bangladesh signed the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian railway network. It is 28th signatory to the deal. It will connect the country’s rail system to a 81000 km network stretching from Europe to East and South East Asia.

A similar Asian Highway network is yet to be signed even though the council of Advisers has given its approval backing April 07.

The cross border network also identifies Bangladesh as the route between China and India, the world fastest growing economies.

Bangladesh permanent representative Ismat Jahan signed the agreement at UN headquarter recently.

The idea was first mooted by UN back in 1960 along the ancient trade route and also dubbed as Iron Silk Road. The UN backed agreement was signed by 10 countries in Jakarta last year. The TAR enters Bangladesh from 3 directions from Indian State of West Bengal and exits through a single gateway in the East at Gundhum, Myanmar.

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Source: Daily Star 11 November 2007

A bamboo-clay house earns prestigious Aga Khan award

The house was made by the indigenous materials- bamboo, clay, straw and rope The workers are mainly the village people and the school children. The creative potential of the children was utilized in the design and construction of the two –storied eye-catching building It is located in the remote village of Rudrapur of Barail Upazilla in Dinajpur.

The name of the school is Modern Education and Training Institute (METI) and it was supported by a Bangladeshi NGO, Dipshikha.

This building has been given the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture for 2007.

The building was constructed in 2005 and took only four months. Local craftsman, traditional methods and material were used with innovative twist with pupils, parents and people taking part. The building cost Taka 17000 lac.

Anna Hearing from Australi and Eike Roswag from Germany were the architects. They engaged skill local craftsmen and helped them refine the processes and taught them new techniques.

About 15 students from BUET led by a lecturer from Brac University also worked there to be acquainted with the method.

Stefen Neumann, a civil engineer from Germany arrived at the site after hearing the prize to study the building.

The building is weather friendly as the moister and the heat inside the building are controlled by the clay, straw and bamboo. .

Prodip Tigga, head teacher of METI, received the award last September in Malaysia on behalf of Dipshikha. The Triennial Aga Khan prize for architecture is worth of $500,000.

We congratulate all who were involved in design and construction of the project for getting this prestigious award..

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'Amader Gram'- an IT based NGO is trying to change the faces of villages in Bangladesh

When I heard the name, I was not impressed. ‘Amader Gram’ (Our Village)-so simple a name. I guess that it could be an NGO. Then I was listening to an interview given by the Program Coordinator of Amader Gram to a TV Channel and I am impressed.

Amader Gram is working in the villages based on ICT. One of the main focus of their work is to bring ICT to the villages. They installed computers in simple village homes, trained the village children, collect different data from the villages, form an extensive database of the villages. This data base could be use for multiple purposes- from identifying the resources and problems of the village to registration of birth and death in the villages, extending micro credit facilities to selecting potential areas of investment.

One special project they are working on is the determination of the breast cancer patient in the villages. Women folks are coming to their lady doctors, they are examined and identified and recoded. They are given treatment, data is transferred through internet and the patients are consulted with the foreign experts. All this compilation is done by school educated village children and youths.

Amader Gram is working from 1996. They are working in 20 villages under Bangerhat and Khulna in Bangladesh.

Amader Gram showed us that ICT can be used in the remote villages, can be operated by village children, can connect the village with the distant developing world and can change the face of the village people in an unthinkable way.

This database concept can be taken up by the Government and can be implemented nationwide, if not at a time then phase by phase.

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7.5% growth can make Bangladesh mid-income country by 2016

“Bangladesh is becoming a middle-income country (MIC) by 2016, provided it can attain and sustained economic growth of 7.5 percent yearly throughout the period” said Sandeep Mahajan, a World Bank economist.

The opinion is based on a study conducted by the World Bank.

He was speaking on the topic-Can Bangladesh become a middle income country by 2016- at the Independent University, Bangladesh Dhaka (IUB) on Sunday. Mahajan suggested manufacture led growth for Bangladesh urging that despite maximum inputs agricultural production can attain about 4 percent to 5 percent growth, while the growth in manufacturing sector can reach as high as 14 percent to 15 percent if necessary support through reforms are available and agricultural productivity is sustained.

He pointed that the sustainable growth is not easy and is depend on

management efficiency

technology transfer

good governance

employment generation

infrastructure development

supportive legal framework

If we review the conditions, we are lagging behind in fulfilling different criteria to achieve the level of MIC. We should strive hard to attain the goal and fulfill the dream.

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Ref: Daily Star 31/10/07

Yaba is destroying our young generation and the culprits should be given capital punishments

Following is the excerpts from 'an ordinary citizen'

Few days back few young students of private universities from posh areas of Dhaka had been arrested with Yaba. In connection with this more interrogations were made and more persons were arrested including young women.
Networks of Yaba addictions, smuggling and Yaba businesses were detected[...].

For details, please link http://bdoza.wordpress.com/

Expatriates are contributing significantly to GDP

Among the South Asian countries Bangladeshi Expatriates made significant contribution to the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the country. In 2006 Expatriate Bangladeshis has sent 800 crore US$, which is 13.1 % of the total GDP of the country. Though the amount the Nepalese sent to their country is 14.1%, the total amount they sent is 110 crore US$. On the other hand Indian are sending the highest amount , though it is 2.1% of GDP of their country. In a joint statement this was disclosed by the International Fund for Agricultural development (IFAD) and Inter-American Development Bank(IDB).

In the report it is said that last year expatriates sent more than 30000 crore US$ to their countries. This is more than the foreign development assistance and direct foreign investment which may contribute significantly in the development of the poor countries. It is said that of 162 developing countries 15 crore expatriates sent money to their families. Most of this money is used up to materialize domestic needs.

This money can’t play any significant role in the domestic economy. “How this money can play an important role in the economy is needed to be find out” said the Kevin Cleaver, Deputy president of UN Agricultural Development Fund.

80 to 90 % of the remittance is used to meet the basic need like food, housing and education of their family. Remaining money is expended for informal savings and investment.

It is found that if the GDP is increased 1% by the remittance, then the poverty is alleviated 0.4%.

“It is expected that the expatriates will invest their money if they get the confidence and opportunity in their country. If that is possible then it will create a beautiful opportunity for the future generation of their country” said Terry of Multilateral Investment Fund.

Care Taken Government of Bangladesh is trying to attract the expatriates to invest in Bangladesh and to play role in the development of the economy directly.

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Ref: Prothom Alo, 20/10/07

Nobel Peace Prize 2007 for Climate Change and Bangladesh

Dr Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Laureate of Peace 2006 congratulated Al Gore on his winning the Nobel peace prize and the Nobel committee for recognizing the former US vice president's work.

Al Gore has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2007 for his efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change. He had to share the prize with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC), an UN body based in Geneva, Switzerland.
The declaration also stated, “Indications of changes in the earth's future climate must be treated with the utmost seriousness, and with the precautionary principle uppermost in our minds. Extensive climate changes may alter and threaten the living conditions of much of mankind. They may induce large-scale migration and lead to greater competition for the earth's resources. Such changes will place particularly heavy burdens on the world's most vulnerable countries. There may be increased danger of violent conflicts and wars, within and between states”.
It aslo added, “ Through the scientific reports it has issued over the past two decades, the IPCC has created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global warming. Thousands of scientists and officials from over one hundred countries have collaborated to achieve greater certainty as to the scale of the warming. Whereas in the 1980s global warming seemed to be merely an interesting hypothesis, the 1990s produced firmer evidence in its support. In the last few years, the connections have become even clearer and the consequences still more apparent”.

Recognizing the contribution of Al Gore, it said that he has been for a long time been one of the world's leading environmentalist politicians. He became aware at an early stage of the climatic challenges the world is facing. His strong commitment, reflected in political activity, lectures, films and books, has strengthened the struggle against climate change. He is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted”.

The Nobel committee also asserted that by awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 to the IPCC and Al Gore, it is seeking to contribute to a sharper focus on the processes and decisions that appear to be necessary to protect the world’s future climate, and thereby to reduce the threat to the security of mankind. Action is necessary now, before climate change moves beyond man’s control.
Dr. Yunus said that Bangladesh is one of the countries which are going to be the worst sufferer for climate change and global warming. As a result of this, 20 percent area of Bangladesh may go under water and millions of people will face disaster," he said, lauding Al Gore's work to create worldwide awareness about climate change, terming it 'timely' and 'humane.'


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Not Government of National Consensus but consensus of political programs is needed

Before Eid, in a social gathering Dr. B Chowdhury, ex President floated his idea of Government of National Consensus. Different political groups and individuals reacted to the idea. Very few accepted the idea of national consensus government. And as the details of the government outline was not spelled out, so the controversy is high.

Many had said that there is no provision Government of National Consensus in our constitution. Such Government can only be formed in case of wars and natural disasters. Our country is not passing through such a state now.

Many opined that national consensus government can only be formed after election if the party win thinks so or there is need to form a coalition to run the Government.

Few suggest that it is not important what the political parties are saying but it is more important to know what the people are thinking. If people think it is good for the country, necessary steps may be taken to materialize the option. But the diffeculty here is how to know the opinions of the people except through referendum on the issue, which may be costly and controversial.

Many oppose the idea of a government without opposition where the national consensus government may turn into an autocratic government.

The Daily Star in its editorial on 17th October, 2007expressed its support for consensus of political programs rather than Government of national consensus.

Consensus on agendas, which the political parties can think of, are the continuation of campaign against corruption, cstructure of reform of the political parties, upholding the separation of judiciary, maintaining the autonomy of the Election Commission, Anticorruption Commission, Public Service Commission; freeing the universities and government services from party politics etc.

The parties may even come to a consensus to form a Government of National Consensus after election. They may fix the agenda and develop a formula to share the government.

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