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Tuesday, May 11, 2010

[ALOCHONA] Govt accused of pursuing multinationals’ agenda



 
 
The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Port on Tuesday demanded that the government provide an immediate solution to the country's nagging power crisis instead of indulging in propaganda for multinational corporations.
   Speaking at a press conference at Mukti Bhaban in Paltan, the committee's leaders claimed that subsequent governments had only been complicating the country's energy sector through deals and contracts with foreign companies which were against the national interest.
   The committee's member-secretary, Professor Anu Muhammad, detailed the committee's proposals to resolve the power crisis and asked the government to avail itself of the opportunities for the mining of gas and coal under national ownership.
   Anu Muhammad criticised the recent initiatives of the government to facilitate the installation of rental and peaking power plants that will generate at best 700 megawatts in nine months, but at the very high price of Tk 8-14 per unit.
   The government will have to give subsidy of almost Tk 10,000 crore a year because of these projects, whereas the national committee has been proposing renovation of national power plants, installation of capacitors, use of energy saving bulbs and intelligent motor controllers that will produce at least 1,500MW in three-nine months, and the electricity will cost only Tk 1.6 per unit, he added.
   Anu Muhammad also pointed out that the government has been buying gas from foreign companies at the rate of Tk 250-300 per unit, thus being forced to pay a subsidy of Tk 2,000 crore a year, whereas the cost could be reduced to Tk 25-30 per unit of gas if the extraction was done by governmental organisations.
   He demanded that the government should revoke the contracts with foreign companies and force the companies which are functioning to extract gas from the gas-blocks in the quickest possible time. 'The nation will only continue to count losses if the remaining gas-blocks are awarded to foreign companies under the current Production Sharing Contract.'
   Speakers also expressed deep concern over the recent machinations of the government to allow Asia Energy to go for the environmentally disastrous open-pit mining method in Phulbari coalfield.
   Claiming that Asia Energy had been accused of irregularities in the global share market, the committee's convenor, Engineer Sheikh Muhammad Shahidullah, said that the company's primary goal to use the open-pit mining method to manipulate the Dhaka share market.
   Sharing the experience of his recent visit to India, Shahidullah said that only 17 per cent of the neighbouring country's total mining is done according to the open-pit system but with certain limits, and provided that the regional geological structure is rocky.
   'But environmental and geological conditions in Bangladesh, which is also densely populated, can never justify open cast mining,' pointed out Shahidullah.
   Speakers also criticised some fabricated and manipulated propaganda in both the print and electronic media for open-pit mining, which is against the people's interest.
   Anu Muhammad told New Age that some pockets had been created in the national media to serve the interest of multinational companies.
   Citing a report published on May 7 this year in Bangla daily Prothom Alo, he said that the story on the country's two ministers' visit to a Hamburg coalmine in Germany had tried to establish groundless comparisons between Hamburg and Phulbari. 'The report did not mention that the visit was funded by GCM, the owner of Asia Energy.'
   Hamburg, where 5,200 locals were displaced, cannot be compared to Phulbari where 1,29,417 people will lose their lands and livelihood and about five lakh people surrounding the area will be severely affected by open-pit mining, according to a report submitted by the expert team formed by the government,' he added.
   Anu Muhammad also claimed that the cover story of the Daily Star's weekly, The Star, on April 30 this year had tried to establish the 'inevitability' of open-pit mining with references to some biased comments by several persons who had served as local agents of Asia Energy before the Phulbari uprising in 2006.
   'It will be a betrayal of the nation if the government pursues open-pit mining after signing a social contract forbidding it in 2006,' said Anu Muhammad.
   The conference was attended by BD Rahmatullah, Mujahidul Islam Selim, MM Akash and Mosharefa Mishu, along with others.


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[ALOCHONA] Bangladeshi criminals in Kolkata



Bangladeshi criminals in Kolkata trying for residences in Europe
 

Four most wanted criminals of Bangladesh who had so long been hiding in the safe haven to the Indian state of West Bengal are now trying to collect permanent residence in the European countries with different names, informed sources said.

The four suspected criminals are Shahadat Hossain, Tanvirul Islam Joy, Subrata Bain and Dipu. They are now reportedly hiding in Kolkata and its surrounding areas. They used different names and addresses in India. They are trying to collect permanent residence in the European countries, particularly France, to avoid arrest and deportation from India to Bangladesh.

The sources said the four suspected criminals had two passports- one of India and the other of Bangladesh. The Indian law enforcement agencies are also reportedly helping the criminals for having the permanent residence in the European countries, they added.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) police of Bangladesh wrote letters to the West Bengal CID police and the Delhi CID police asking them to hand over the terrorists to Bangladesh, the sources said.

More than 400 listed terrorists, including Shahadat Hossain, Tanvirul Islam Joy, Subrata Bain and Dipu, reportedly have taken shelter in the safe haven in different parts of West Bengal. At present they are fearing deportation after signing of the extradition treaty between Bangladesh and India after the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India in January.

Reliable sources said that a number of Bangladeshi criminals had already left Kolkata and have taken shelter in Nepal and in the India-China border areas while some others in Dubai in the last one-year.

Dipu and Khondokar Tanvirul Islam Joy are the convicts of the Awami League leader Ahsanullah Master murder case.The Kolkata CID police arrested the most wanted terrorist Joy from his luxurious flat in North Kolkata on May 4 last year. He was later released on bail.
Two passports- one of India and the other of Bangladesh- were recovered from his flat.

Joy was known as Tarek Rana in Kolkata. He had been running a travel agency business there for the last five years. The cost of the flat that was bought by Joy is Tk 2.5 crore.

The sources said that Subrata Bain - one of the 23 most wanted criminals for whose arrest the government announced a bounty in 2001 - was arrested by Kolkata police in 2008 and was released after serving several months in jail.

The sources said that the recent movement of criminals started when the Kolkata police deported some wanted criminals to Bangladesh in late 2008.The criminals who have been deported so far to Bangladesh included Sanjidul Islam Imon, Ishaq, Selim alias Lambu Selim, Ibrahim and Habibur Rahman Taj.

Another wanted criminal Shahazada was also deported from India in late March. He was taken into the police custody in Dhaka.The Bangladesh police also reportedly deported some of the India's most wanted criminals.

Intelligence sources in Dhaka said that the Indian police recently proposed to deport 26 Bangladeshi criminals in exchange for one of the most wanted Indian criminals, Abdur Rauf alias Daud Merchant, who was detained by the DB police in Brahmanbaria last year.

The criminals whom the Indian police wanted to deport to Bangladesh included the condemned convict of the Awami League leader Ahsanullah Master murder case Dipu, Khondokar Tanvirul Islam Joy, Haris Ahmed, Mollah Masud, Dakat Shaheed, Imam Hossain, Prokash Biswas, Shamim alias Aga Shamim, Zafar Ahmed Manik, Shahadat Hossain, Nabin Hossain Kajal, Shafiq, Jalal Mondal, Askar Dewan, Motaleb Hossain, Muktar Hossain Tapan, Shamim, Ashiq, Mister T Babu, Selim alias Kala Selim alias Mujibur Rahman, Shaher Ali, Chan alias Kalachan, Omar Faruk, Ratan and Ilias Maksudul Haque alias Bihari Chan.

http://www.ittefaq.com/issues/2010/05/12/news0753.htm

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Re: [ALOCHONA] Rabindranath:enemy of Bangladesh People n humanity



Mr Monaz hoq,
I think you have no vast study on Rabindranath.Have you any objection on any of the facts I cited in my [posting?
Tegor,s dream Was" Ek Dhormo Rajjo Varot" Which now the dream of Bal Thakre n Advani Gong, are a member of that group?
Have gone through Tagore's Poem ' Sibaji -Utsob"? His Beliefe. dream Political Thinking  all lies in it.


--- On Sun, 5/9/10, haque@berlin.com <haque@berlin.com> wrote:

From: haque@berlin.com <haque@berlin.com>
Subject: Re: [ALOCHONA] Rabindranath:enemy of Bangladesh People n humanity
To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, May 9, 2010, 4:26 AM

 
Dear Moderators of Alochona Group,

Is it necessary to publish this kind of rubbish write-up here in
Alochona group? I was a founder member of Alochona group since 1998.
Alochona is a Bangladesh centric forum encompassing topics related to
Bengali culture and Bangladeshi people. We have got over 16 thousands
different postings from different writers during last 12 years. We have
got knowledge in relation to Bengali culture, politics, philosophy and
socioeconomic topics; many of the intellectual personalities of Bengali
society have drawn us to the Enlightenment. But I can not take part in
this kind of stupid opinion that "Rabindranath Tagore is an enemy of
Bangladesh People".

Tagore's reputation as a philosopher and writer was established in
undivided India and in Abroad after the publication of Gitanjali. His
Song Offerings, in which Tagore tried to find inner calm and explored
the themes of divine and human love. His cosmic visions owed much to
the lyric tradition of human religion and its concepts about the
relationship between man and God.

Gitanjali published in 1912 with an introduction by William Butler
Yates, who wrote "These lyrics - which are in the original, my Indians
tell me, full of subtlety of rhythm, of untranslatable delicacies of
colour, of metrical invention - display in their thought a world I have
dreamed of all my life long." His poems were praised by Ezra Pound,
and drew the attention of the Nobel Prize committee.

Tagore is the composer of our National Anthem "Amar Sonar Bangla" and
if someone called him as an "enemy of Bangladesh People" than he is
definitely undermining our national and state sovereignty and playing
with the sentiments of all Bangladeshi people.

So I request you to read the post before approving it for 4000 readers
of this forum.
With best thanking.

-Monaz Haque, Moderator, Yahoo Tagore Forum

-----Original Message-----
From: Md. Aminul Islam <aminul_islam_ raj@yahoo. com>
To: notun_bangladesh@ yahoogroups. com; history_islam@ yahoogroups. com;
dahuk@yahoogroups. com; banglarnari@ yahoogroups. com;
khabor@yahoogroups. com; Bangla Zindabad
<Bangladesh-Zindabad @yahoogroups. com>; Sonar Bangladesh
<sonarbangladesh@ yahoogroups. com>; bangla vision
<bangla-vision@ yahoogroups. com>; wideminds <WideMinds@yahoogrou ps.com>;
vinnomot <vinnomot@yahoogroup s.com>; Dhaka Mails
<dhakamails@yahoogro ups.com>; alochona <alochona@yahoogroup s.com>;
ayubi_s786@yahoo. com; faruquealamgir@ gmail.com
Sent: Sun, May 9, 2010 4:44 am
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Rabindranath: enemy of Bangladesh People n humanity

Rabindranath: enemy of Bangladesh People n humanity
 
Dear All,
Do you know that Poet" Bshakobi " rabindranath
 
1 )compelled his Muslim subjects Giving Chanda For Puja
2) compelled his Muslim subjects  giving Tax for Bared ( Lari rakharv
jonno kor Adai korto)
3)He never established a single school in  his jomidari in Bangladesh(
silaidoh , shajatpur or potisosr)
4)He opposed and protested the establishment of Dhaka University
5)oppression on subjects by Rabindranath is a  well established Truth.
He was getting Khetabs , as supported the British colonial regime when
nazrul was jailed for  his role against the British regime.
 But sometimes some so called manobotabadi ask for establish the ideal
of This rabindranath.
 
 What kind of "Manobotabadi was Rabindranath n his supporters?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




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Re: [ALOCHONA] Rabindranath:enemy of Bangladesh People n humanity



Mr Muhosin Ali,
I have showed how rabindranath is a enemy of Humanity n people of Bangladesh.I presented some facts. These are not created by me.First I came to know about this by Dr Ahmed Sharif  . In one of his article published  in Uttoradhikar , a literary quarterly of Bang la Academy. It is noted that Mr Sharif was one of those who came forward in support of Rabindranath when there was a strong propaganda against Rabindra nath.Dr sarif Showed How Rabindranath oppressed his subjects. 
 If any body snached ones religious right or copelled one to follow other religion then he is enemy of humanity.If someone stand against establishing university in bangladesh he is enemy of Bangladesh.
aminul
              

--- On Sun, 5/9/10, Dr. M. Mohsin Ali <drmohsinali@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Dr. M. Mohsin Ali <drmohsinali@yahoo.com>
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Rabindranath:enemy of Bangladesh People n humanity
To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, May 9, 2010, 6:26 AM

 
IT IS A NONSENSE PROPAGANDA LIKE THE AYUB-MONAYEM REGIME OF PAKISTAN DURING 1960'S AGAINST THE BENGALI CULTURE. THEY WERE ALREADY THROWN OUT OF THE HISTORY OF PAKISTAN AND BANGLADESH THE BRAVE PEOPLE OF BANGLADESH.
I AM WONDERING HOW ALOCHONA GROUP IS ENCOURAGING SUCH PAKISTANI OLD PROPAGANDA AND TRYING TO DEFAME KOBI GURU.

--- On Sat, 5/8/10, Md. Aminul Islam <aminul_islam_ raj@yahoo. com> wrote:

From: Md. Aminul Islam <aminul_islam_ raj@yahoo. com>
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Rabindranath: enemy of Bangladesh People n humanity
To: notun_bangladesh@ yahoogroups. com, history_islam@ yahoogroups. com, dahuk@yahoogroups. com, banglarnari@ yahoogroups. com, khabor@yahoogroups. com, "Bangla Zindabad" <Bangladesh-Zindabad @yahoogroups. com>, "Sonar Bangladesh" <sonarbangladesh@ yahoogroups. com>, "bangla vision" <bangla-vision@ yahoogroups. com>, "wideminds" <WideMinds@yahoogrou ps.com>, "vinnomot" <vinnomot@yahoogroup s.com>, "Dhaka Mails" <dhakamails@yahoogro ups.com>, "alochona" <alochona@yahoogroup s.com>, ayubi_s786@yahoo. com, faruquealamgir@ gmail.com
Date: Saturday, May 8, 2010, 10:44 PM

 
Rabindranath: enemy of Bangladesh People n humanity
 
Dear All,
Do you know that Poet" Bshakobi " rabindranath
 
1 )compelled his Muslim subjects Giving Chanda For Puja
2) compelled his Muslim subjects  giving Tax for Bared ( Lari rakharv jonno kor Adai korto)
3)He never established a single school in  his jomidari in Bangladesh( silaidoh , shajatpur or potisosr)
4)He opposed and protested the establishment of Dhaka University
5)oppression on subjects by Rabindranath is a  well established Truth.
He was getting Khetabs , as supported the British colonial regime when nazrul was jailed for  his role against the British regime.
 But sometimes some so called manobotabadi ask for establish the ideal of This rabindranath.
 
 What kind of "Manobotabadi was Rabindranath n his supporters?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 





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[ALOCHONA] Internet Radio @ bdsoftonline.com

Please visit our Internet Radio at http://www.bdsoftonline.com. We are in beta testing phase. 5000 people will be able to listen simultaneously. If you have any question please contact:

hdelwar@yahoo.com

Thank you

Delwar Hossain

------------------------------------

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[ALOCHONA] Please join us on May 29, 2010 (Saturday) by 5:30 pm to enjoy BAAI's Rabindro Joyonti, Nazrul Joyonti, & Welcome Bangla New Year 1417.



 

Bangladesh Association of America, Inc. (BAAI) ®

(Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland)
presents
a super entertaining "three-in-one" event filled evening
 
 ~ Rabindro Joyonti ~
~ Nazrul Joyonti ~
&
~ Welcome Bangla New Year 1417 ~
 
 
Date: May 29, 2010 (Saturday) 
 
Time: from 5:30 pm to 10:30 pm
{We expect to start program on-time, because we are going to present three (3) highly attractive individual events in one evening. 
Therefore, we are strongly requesting you to arrive by 5:30 pm.} 
 
Location: Robert E. Lee High School
6540 Franconia Road
Springfield, Virginia 22150
 
Admission:  FREE
 
 
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS (also see the second attachment to know sequence of total program): 
 

 

Rabindranath.jpgRABINDRANATH TUMI NOBO NOBO RUPE ASHO PRANE

 

Script:  Taj Hasan

Dance:  Ankita

Recitation:  Shirin Islam

Singers:  Manisha Mandal, Nasreen Mahmud, Antara Barua, & Shantanu Barua

Keyboard:  Sami

Tabla:  Himu Rozario

 

 

nazrul.jpgSHURE O BANITE NAZRUL
 
Overall Arrangement & Coordination:  Ruma Bhowmik

Music Direction, Script, & Actors' Make-Up:  Suranajan Dutta 

Vocal Artists:  Suranjan Dutta, Manisha Mandal, Mahinul Haque Rubel, Shahnaz Rahman Sumi, Krishna Datta, Debasri Mitra, & Ruma Bhowmik 
Script Narration:  Shamim Chowdhury & Soma Bose  

Tabla:  Himu Rozario 
Keyboard:  Abu Rumi 
Dance:  Runa Guha, Nandita Bose, Sharmin Delwar Adhora, Anika Rahman, Priyanka Bose, Onika Alam Bipa, Tanjina Malisa Rahman 
Dance Choreopgraphy: 
Apparna Datta (Nupur Academy of Fine Arts), Runa Guha, & Soma Bose

Recitation & Acting:  Mahfuzur Rahman, Sohel Anwar Litu, & Masud Rahman



Pohela_boishakh_2.jpgCELEBRATE  BANGLA  NEW  YEAR  1417

 

Welcome Bangla New Year 1417 with Dhak & brass plate (Kasha) music:  Himu Rozario

Dance:  Angelica Gomez Joyee & Ima Rozario (choreopgraphed by Apparna Datta)
Parody songs:  Himu Rozario

Song & Dance:  Amelia Sharmeen & Zaira

Comedy Skit"Akkas Alir Bhimroti" – Masud Rahman, Sohel Anwar Litu, & Mahfuzur Rahman

Songs:  Komar Khan Shema

Extravaganza Group Dance:  Alif, Mac, Himel, Churri, Sharicka, Irtiza, Ibtida, & Humayra {choreographed by Oshmi Anwar & Shalmi Anwar}

 

Quiz Game "Who is the most attentive guest?"

We will ask few questions on different segments & slots of the whole program.  Whoever among the audience can answer correctly to maximum questions, he/she will get very attractive prize and win the title as "The Most Attentive Guest".  To win this quiz game, you must watch the whole program very attentively from the beginning to end and take notes.  {Performers, volunteers, & BAAI personnel are NOT eligible to participate in this quiz game.}

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sound System:  Jamil Khan

 

Master of Ceremonies:  Dilshad Choudhury Chhuty & Mahfuzur Rahman

 

Program & Backstage Managers:  Sheikh Mawla Milon & Masrur Hossain  

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In addition, we will have food stalls in the lobby to provide varieties of delicious food including Pitha, Vorta, Panta Bhaat, Ileesh Bhaja, etc.  There will also be Sari stalls, jewelery stalls, CD/DVD stalls, etc.

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
Directions: From interstate 95 in Virginia, take exit 169A (Franconia Road) towards route 644 East.  Keep left on Franconia Road.  After a little while, make a U-TURN onto Franconia Road.  Robert E. Lee High School (6540 Franconia Road) is located on your right side.  Park your car very closed to Gymnasium.  The closest entrance to the auditorium is through door 14 (next to Gymnasium entrance).
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
Please bring your family, relatives, & friends on May 29, 2010 (Saturday) by 5:30 pm to enjoy a super fun-filled "three-in-one" evening. 
 
Best Regards,
 
Inara Islam: 703-866-2893;  Misu Tasnim: 240-516-8276;  Rajib Bhuiyan: 202-330-8655;  Samina Chowdhury: 301-502-2944;  Aref Baig: 443-472-4158;  Taufique Alam Sumon: 410-446-2574;  Nurain Jamil Chaman: 571-265-7004Beauty Karim: 301-528-6135
********************************************************************************************************************************************************
Based on BAAI's request, this announcement is being sent by:
 
MAHFUZUR  RAHMAN
6524  Ivy Terrace
Elkridge,  Maryland 21075
410-796-0577 (home); 301-646-3475 (cell); 703-875-4054 (work)
BangaliBhai@hotmail.com


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Re: [ALOCHONA] Investment scenario bleak, political grudge intensifying



This entire article is a total fabrication.

It completely ignores the unprecedented prosperity and social justice that we have experienced since the creation of Digital Bangladesh.

The anti-Liberation forces and war criminals are executing a Pakistan sponsored "blueprint" that involves disguising themselves as poor people and switching off their lights and electrical appliances in a coordinated effort to create the illusion of poverty and load-shedding.

These anti-people forces must be stopped.

Emanur Rahman | m. +447734567561 | e. emanur@rahman.com


From: Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2010 08:07:35 +0600
To: <dhakamails@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Investment scenario bleak, political grudge intensifying

Investment scenario bleak, political grudge intensifying
 
At a time when investment in the national economy is on decline from home and abroad, statement by some senior ministers to take over Islami Bank and Ibn Sina Trust and such other organisations has the danger to bring further decline in the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) and intensify this nosedive.
   The economy is in a shambles and growth this year is going to be the lowest than the past several years, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank said.
   
Moreover, the acute shortage of gas and electricity has virtually blocked the way of setting up new industry and run the existing manufacturing facilities thereby threatening job cuts and snags in income generating activities.
   Finance minister A M A Muhith said the country is facing a famine like situation as far as the energy supply is concerned. In this situation analysts wonder how responsible government ministers can speak about taking over banks, hospitals and such other institutions only because they are run by people largely belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami and other Islamic groups.
   
The government is working on a move to try the leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (BJI) for taking side with Pakistani occupation forces and their alleged involvement in armed activities which may fall under war crimes. For this purpose the Government has already set up the trial court, appointed judges and chief prosecutor when other preparatory works are in progress.
   In this backdrop, the Prime Minister recently blamed local and external forces for working to stop the trial and said the BNP is trying to save its political ally BJI and party standing committee member Salahuddin Qadir Chowdhury as a former Muslim League using Saudi government's influence on her administration.
   Meanwhile, some of the cabinet ministers said, BJI is using huge fund from Islami Bank and such other institutions allegedly run by its members to block the trial and so the government should go for taking over them.
   
   Investment scenario
   It appears like the ministers are speaking freely without thinking about what is happening currently at the investment level from domestic and outside sources. Board of Investment chief Dr S A Samad last week agreed the investment scenario is not encouraging and falling much behind the previous records. At a discussion held by Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) at Jatiya Press Club, he blamed shortage of power and gas and such other infrastructural facilities as the biggest impediment to attracting new investment.
   
Most other discussants held the same view and may be for political expediency, no discussant made any attempt to analyze the investment situation from a governance perspective now obtaining in the ground.
   It is true people are not having new gas connection to commission already set up manufacturing plant and run existing plants for frequent power outages. But there are also reasons beyond such failures which are impeding investment.
   
   RMG scenario
   News of wanton destruction, violence and arson at garment factories at Savar, Gazipur or Kanchpur hit the headlines of the national dailies last week. In most incidents ruling party leaders right from MPs down to local party cadres are having hand in them as part of their alleged toll collection drive.
   "If you want to build a new plant, you will have to pay local party men," said a garment owner claiming anonymity.
   
Moreover, government business rules and procurement guideline change very frequently changing specifications of items in question, extending dates and taking new suppliers' names in the list violating existing notification, said another entrepreneur pointing out that business has become difficult to continue.
   These being the ground realities, discussants on most occasions just prefer to blame the past government to conceal the Government's own failure to improve the energy crisis over last 13 months.
   
   Four telecom firms
   A questioner at the ERF meeting raised the point of good governance, consistency in policy regime and questionable actions of the regulatory bodies saying their behaviour is very important to promote investment and protect it. He wanted to know what justification lay behind closing four telecom firms recently by the authorities for their alleged involvement in VOIP business in which people from regulatory bodies also had a helping hand.
   The Government could fine them or take them to court for bigger punishment. But the authorities had just closed the firms and disconnected their closer to one million clients sending most owners to underground and subsequently to jail.
   Such moves are sure to be counterproductive, especially when the Government takes such cases purely on political motive to destroy businesses and make their owners insolvent as they may belong to opposition. Economic cost of such moves is enormous and such actions can never be investor-friendly.
  
 Many prospective investors now stay out of the country with their money lying elsewhere as the political move of the ruling party is forcing them to stay out of the country which is depriving the nation of investment which could have otherwise benefited the country.
   Expatriate investments may also remain at the low at this moment. Analysts say it is not time for pro-BNP businessmen to invest in national economy fearing unknown reprisals. This country is by and large divided in absence of rule of law. Analysts add, this is the time for ruling Awami League to amass wealth or take possession of public land informally. Investment in the country's real sector is failing; so the nose dive is bound to occur as the IMF said growth this year may be at 5.0 per cent.
   
   IDB, OIC and IBBL
   Moreover the case for taking over of Islami Bank or Ibn Sina Trust calls for closer review. How can the ministers speak of taking over banks, hospitals or pharmaceutical company because they are run by people many of whom belong to BJI workers and supporters? For argument's sake even if BJI leaders were war crime suspects, what is the problem with the Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd. (IBBL) which is having 57.36 per cent share from foreign countries.
   
The bank was established in 1983 under an agreement with Islami Development Bank (IDB) following the approval of the move by Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) at its Jeddah meeting in 1981.
   Its shareholders include Saudi and UAE royal family members and others from Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Luxemburg. It is the first such bank set up in South and Southeast Asia and since then Islamic banking has taken roots in Europe, USA and East Asia. In Bangladesh almost all other banks have also Islamic banking windows, besides insurance companies set up following Islamic banking principles.
   
So many people wonder why the government leaders and some people from different platforms are speaking without knowing its legal and practical implications.
   One wonders if they really know by taking over Islami Bank -- by far the biggest private sector bank in the country -- having investments in almost all sectors of the economy, the government may really create panic to business community destabilising the economy.
   The bank having 231 branches all over the country earned a profit of Taka 845 crore last year of which it paid 42 per cent to the government as taxes. It is employing 9467 people at various levels bringing bread to their families. The Government leaders are blaming Islami Bank for funding jihadi activists, but the bank functionaries say they are operating under strict supervision of the central bank and regular BNR audits. The bank -- established 12 years after the independence -- has no relation with war crime trial or the persons whom the government is trying to prosecute.
   The anger become clear from comment of Dr Abul Barkat who in his research on 'economy of fundamentalists' said the country's Islamic economy is growing between 7 to 9 per cent annually at a time when the national economy is growing between 5 to 5.5 per cent. His focus was that such faster growth of the Islamic economy through its network of banks, insurance and health organizations is becoming a growing threat to the country's secularist forces and their destruction may only bring peace.
   
   Health sector
   It is a recognized fact that Ibn Sina Trust, Islami Bank Hospital and such other outlets significantly contributing to the country's health sector. Ibn Sina sources say they offer low-cost health services to the people and also free treatment and hospital beds in selective cases. Their health facilities are having the latest technological equipment in service. They said they offer 25 per cent discount on diagnostic services to patients at a time when other diagnostic centers pay back to doctors who send patients to them. People wonder why a group of professionals demand the closure of all diagnostic centers and coaching centers run by groups affiliated to BJI and such other groups.
 


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[ALOCHONA] Mainul may face murder case



Mainul may face murder case
 

Former caretaker government adviser Mainul Hosein is likely to be sued for the death of 11 workers during the much-talked about demolition of Rangs Bhaban at Bijoy Sarani.

The parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Housing and Public Works on Tuesday made the recommendation that a murder case be filed against Mainul.The building was demolished in an unplanned way, said ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury, chairman of the committee at a press conference at the parliament media centre.

The committee also asked Rajuk to demolish top three floors of Musafir Plaza, owned by Mainul Hosein, in Kakrail. The floors of the fifteen-storey building were constructed without Rajuk's approval, Chowdhury said.The JS body asked Rajuk to file another case against Mainul for constructing the floors without concerned authority's knowledge.

When contacted, Mainul's wife Shaju Hosein admitted that one additional floor of the building was constructed without approval.
 


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[ALOCHONA] Bangladesh's Digital Journey: Online service delivery through ICT [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from touhid faisal included below]

Bangladesh's Digital Journey:  Online service delivery through ICT

By - Professor Syed Ahsanul Alam Parvez

 

Prelude:

 Globalization and rapid progress in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are bringing about fundamental changes in all aspects of our society. Remarkable changes have taken place in service sectors like

a) banking, b) hotels, c) hospitals, d) airlines, e) trains, f) buses, g) stock exchanges, h) news paper, i) tourism sector j) online job site k) e-education, l) e-library and other service sectors.

 Changes in Government:

 Similar changes are taking place in governments. Very recently our government introduced the district web portal so that citizens can remain more informed. Very slowly more and more government agencies are publishing their websites with limited information. Automations of our custom house is a good example of uses of ICT in e-service delivery through ICT.

 Our response to these worldwide changes is to transform Bangladesh to a digital Bangladesh , which  means delivering services to citizens more effectively online and by ICT. It means not asking the citizen for more information than necessary, or not asking the citizen to go to more than one agency for a specific service. It means service delivery organizations linking their back-ends to citizen rather than expecting the citizen to do so.

Definitely Digital governance will call for increased IT uses and enhance better connectivity in public and private sector.

 Using ICT to Better Serve Citizens:

 E-Government is not simply adding an "e" to government. It requires that we fundamentally re-think all aspects of government services to see how we can take advantage of technology to deliver services online to citizens. It also means that we leverage on ICT to change the nature and quality of governance to ensure that citizens can enjoy the online services sitting at home and office. It is about achieving, what we like to call, making online as much e-services possible and simplify service delivery procedure.

 

The Digital Journey:

 Our honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has declared her political commitment to transform Bangladesh into a Digital Bangladesh. Her political commitment has a clear direction of transforming Bangladesh government to an e-government. The first phase of Digitalizing Bangladesh is directed at improving public administration through the effective use of IT by automation of works functions and reducing paperwork.

I refer here that we should gradually move towards a paperless office in the government sector. But we have to remember that after bathing the baby, we cannot throw the baby with the bathing water. We have to maintain hard copy of documents as back up till that time when data storage and data retrieval system in our country becomes dependable and full proof. In the second phase the emphasis subsequently should be shifted to inter-agency communication and co-ordination so as to provide integrated services to the public or citizens. I am referring here to transform our citizens to e-citizens, enjoying more and more services online both from the public and the private sector in the near future. In one of my report to the government, I have emphasized to create a number of Data Hubs to reduce redundancy in data capturing and promote data sharing within the Government. Very recently in Bangladesh , we saw the beginning of an adaptive civil service-wide network more known as the district portal.

 Delivering e-services Online:

 In the area of e-service delivery, we may identify four (4) levels of e-service based on the depth of interaction between the citizens and Government to assist our public sector agencies in developing their e-services capability. The 4 levels can be denoted as

 a) "Publish"- At the lowest level of "Publish", the interaction is one-way with the user receiving information online. b) "Interact", c) "Transact" and d) "Integrate"- At the "Integrate" level, the organizational complexity is hidden from the customer.

 To implement Digital Bangladesh, service delivery organizations must strive to deliver online every service that can be delivered electronically. E-service delivery organizations should also aim to deliver every e-service at the Transact level online, unless impossible, in which case it shall be offered at the Interact level. The transaction can be carried out by ATM cards, debit cards, credit cards or any other type of bank cards available in our country.

To-date, less than 1% of all feasible public services are online only. To mention a few are:

 

a) Online banking, b) Online hotel reservations, c) online hospital reservations, d) online train ticketing,

e) online air ticketing, f)) online bus ticketing, g) online library, etc.

But the number of these services is less than 20 to the best of my knowledge. It is interesting to know that Singapore already made more than 1650 online services available for their citizens out of about 2000 services identified by their government to be delivered online to the citizens of Singapore . I expect in Bangladesh , we will be able to put more and more services year by year for our citizens.

Hundreds of services required by the citizens may be made available online  that are organized around customers' needs. For this we need agencies to work to integrate information processes so as to provide a continuous online experience.

Pivotal to the quick and efficient development and deployment of e-services is developing a highly scalable and secure infrastructure layer, a rapid application development environment and a set of basic services such as payment, authentication and data exchange with legacy systems.

Delivering business services online:

 In the business arena, services essential to the starting and the running of a business maybe also delivered online. This will helps promote greater productivity, efficiency, and convenience with simplified procedures and faster turnaround times. Issuance of

a) Trade license (TL),

b) TIN certificate,

c) Export license,

d) Import license,

e) Registrations of private company,

f) Membership certificate from Chambers of Commerce, and many others are examples of services that maybe given online. The application approval process involving different agencies maybe reduced to one third to that of the present.

 Building a Digital Society:

 Our Prime Ministers dream of a Digital Bangladesh is aimed to help citizens gain basic access to basic IT technologies. As such the government has to keep sharp eye to see if citizens are on the wrong side of the digital divide. Bangladesh government is committed to ensure that technology is made accessible and affordable to all, regardless of wealth, education, language, social background or ability.

To build this "Digital Bangladesh", a term coined by our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina indicating towards a digital society, the government will have put in place various initiatives to ensure that there is sufficient public access and helping those who are away from the cities and with less financial means to have access to information highway.

The National ICT Policy 2009 is one such initiative to increase the ICT literacy of the nation as a whole. We have to run  different programme to help the bureaucrats, academics, professionals, students, workers, home makers to learn the basic as how to get e-services or online services from the service providers. Initially they may have to be dependent on those who have IT literacy. Gradually, our IT literacy is increasing and use of ATMs, other online banking services, use of e-ticketing of air lines, buying train tickets online are the proofs of the slow diffusion of technology in our society. Very soon we will be able to buy bus tickets also online sitting at our home or office. Community service shall be increased by students and other IT literate segments to gradually literate the less privileged sections of the society.

From basic computer literacy to a IT trained workforce and gradually increasing the number of e-citizens is a process which might take time. But our progress has to be expedited to achieve our target to transform Bangladesh to a digital Bangladesh .

Till today we could not develop a robust nationwide broadband infrastructure. To ensure that all our citizens including the under privileged section to enjoy the benefits of online service delivery, we have to establish extensive IT network throughout the nation.

Many eCitizen Help Centres have to be developed nationwide and each eCitizen Help Centre should be equipped with computers offering free Internet access to e-services. Interested volunteers should be motivated  to become eCitizen Helpers to guide citizens, such as the elderly and IT-illiterate, who may need assistance to access to online services.

 Connecting Citizens:

 In building Digital Bangladesh, we inevitably will have to shape the expectations of our citizens.

Moving forward, there are two areas that has to be focused on to delight our citizens and to connect citizens.

Firstly, in the area of service delivery, service delivery organizations will have to deliver accessible quality online services. Government has to ensure that technology is affordable and everyone who wants to be online is able to do so.

Secondly, I believe that ICT can be leveraged on as a powerful tool to engage the citizens as stakeholders to bring citizens closer together. As with online services, the emergence of new technologies significantly widens the scope for consulting with citizens and to facilitate citizen participation. I suggest to explore forming new channels using ICT to build the infrastructure essential to nurture national bonding and facilitate the building of a stronger sense of belonging to the country. This will appeal to a populace that is becoming more comfortable in making use of electronic channels for work and play.

Moving forward, we shall focus on establishing basic levels online delivery of services  to citizens and in doing so we need greater consultation and participation of citizen.

 Conclusion:

 ICT has been a key enabler to offer  online services to our citizens and businesses.

Our government has to be committed to continue to leverage on ICT through constantly reviewing the processes, improving the quality and accessibility of our online services and to connect citizens to bring them closer together. Besides the availability of services online, it is equally important to consider their acceptance and usage by the public. The benefits of online service can only be reaped if the public regard online service as the norm in transacting with public and private sector enterprise.

 ____________________________

 Author 

Prof. Syed Ahsanul Alam is an internationally reputed policy strategist on e-Governance & Chairman, Department of  Marketing, University of Chittagong  and Chairman   Center for Good Governance. Former Vice-Rector, Premier University and Vice-Dean, University of Science and Technology, Director, Sadharon Bima Corporation.

He lectured widely at various Universities at home and abroad and has numerous International  publication (See Internet)  in his credit.

 The Author may be reached at Fax :880-31-2550872,

 E-mail:professorparvez@gmail.com 

Web: www.goodgovernancebd.org

 

 

 

 



Attachment(s) from touhid faisal

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