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Monday, August 2, 2010

[ALOCHONA] Crisis in the poultry sector



Crisis in the poultry sector

 

by ANWAR PARVEZ HALIM

 

Eggs are selling at 26 taka per hali (four) in the market and broiler chickens at 150 taka per kg. Breeder farms sell day-old chicks at 50 to 60 taka each. Over the past three months the small farm owners have been demanding that the price of chicks be reduced.

With the price of eggs and chicks going up, and with Ramadan around the corner, the government took the decision to import these items. And, in the face of demands, the government fixed the price of chicks at a maximum of 30 taka each for broilers and 32 taka each for layers. But the owners of the breeder farms are not accepting this. They say that the production cost of each chick is about 40 to 45 taka and then there are transportation costs. So unless they sell the chicks from 50 to 55 taka, they will be incurring losses.

Mashiur Rahman, Managing Director of Paragon Group, says, "Unless the government changes its decision, the poultry farm owners will lose everything. Even if chicks are imported from India, these can't be less than 50 taka each." He says that after the government gave its approval, only four truckloads of chicks were imported. As there is not too much difference in price, no one is very interested in bringing the chicks from outside.

Other sources say that India is trying to capture the market in a different way. Venketesher, the Indian company which controls about 80% of India's poultry industry, has placed a 700 crore taka investment proposal with the government. Another Indian company Godrej ACI has begun business in collaboration with Bangladesh. They are already doing business in several districts of North Bengal, marketing eggs, chickens and chicken feed. Local breeder farms owners say that the aim of these companies is to capture the Bangladesh market.

Mashiur Rahman, Convenor of the National Coordination Committee on Poultry, says, "There is a move to destroy this flourishing industry in our country. The industry is hostage in the hands of middle-men parading in the name of agents and dealers. They have agitated the small farms owners. He blames the concerned ministry's ignorance and neglect for this state of affairs. Many apprehend that if this local industry faces a blow, India will monopolise the market.

 

Going back

 

Towards the nineties, farm-bred broiler chickens and farm eggs gained popularity and commercial viability. Private investment began to pour into this sector. Basically from 1995 the poultry industry began to flourish in no uncertain terms.

There are about 150,000 poultry farms, small and large, in the country at the moment. Of these, five are large grandparent stock farms, 40-50 are parent stock farms and hatcheries. These produce eggs, chickens and chicken feed. Aftab, Kazi Farm, Nourish, CP, Paragon, ACI/Godrej are the leading farms in the country.

Private investment in the poultry industry at present amounts to 20 thousand crore taka. About five million people are directly and indirectly involved in this industry. The industry contributes 6-7% of the GDP.

Engineer Mahbubur Rahman, Operative Director of Aftab Bahumukhi Farms, states that the weekly demand for broilers and layers is about 76 lac 50 thousand. But the production and supply is 55 lac 50 thousand. That means there is a shortfall of 21 lac chickens.

According to Paragon Group's MD Mashiur Rahman, every day 1.5 crore eggs are produced in the country. If every day everyone has even one egg each, the deficit will be ten times the production.

The entrepreneurs say there has been a 10% growth in this industry over the past 15 years. They say that with government help, investment in this sector will double in the next five or six years and the shortfall will be met.

Fazle Rahim Shahriar, Managing Director of Aftab Farms, says Bangladesh's self-reliance has increased in the poultry sector. Huge amounts of foreign exchange is being save every year. Medicines, feed, and other essential raw materials are being produced. Not only that, we supply eggs and chicken at a much lower price than in China, Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan.

However, eggs and chickens produced in Bangladesh are costlier than those produced in neighbouring India. The reason behind this, say the entrepreneurs, is that India produces all the essential raw material of the sector itself. And their government also extends all sorts of facilities to the industry. Bangladesh has to import the raw materials. The government has affixed a 5% tax on this import. This pushes the production costs up. The producers have appealed to the government to lift this tax so that the market will be affordable till at least 2015.

 

Cause of the crisis

 

The entrepreneurs also blame the present predicament of the poultry industry upon the caretaker government. Then there was the avian influenza or bird flu which also dealt a serious blow to the sector. It is still reeling from that crisis. With demand more than supply, the price of day-old chicks has shot up.

Many have been alarmed by the government's giving permission to import chicks and eggs. They say it is not safe to import chicks from India. If they have any sort of disease, it will spread like wild fire in the industry here.

 

The middlemen

 

The small farmers at the grassroots make the biggest contribution to the poultry sector, yet they can't purchase chicks, eggs, feed and medicines directly from the breeder farms. The breeder farm owners have hundreds of dealers and agents who act as the middle-men. The small farmers are dependent on them. The dealers or agents pay in advance for the chicks and supply them on credit. That is why when the chicks grow, the farmers can't sell them directly to the market. They have to hand these over to the middle men at the price agreed upon.

It is said that the dealers sell the chicks to the farmers at a much higher price than what they buy it for from the breeders. After 30 to 35 days when the chick grows up, the dealers buy it from the farmers at rates lower than the market price. The dealers also keep a wide profit margin on medicines and feed. It is not just the farmers but the entire industry that is held hostage by these middlemen.

The poultry farmers have started a movement and the big farm owners blame the middlemen for this. They allege that they are in collusion with outside quarters to destroy the local poultry industry. They are demanding that the middlemen link be abolished and that they do business directly with the farmers. Paragon Group MD Mashiur Rahman says that the government must come forward to help in this regard.

The owners of the breeder farms say that the government has livestock offices in all the districts. They can be used to help the small farmers in capacity building, to train them about poultry diseased and so on. The government should help the small farmers to directly avail loans from government banks and NGO so they can buy chicks directly from the hatcheries rather than through the middlemen.



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[ALOCHONA] Police baton charges CU students



Police baton charges CU students
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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[ALOCHONA] Re: Garments passing to Indian hands



Also see this:
 
On 7/25/10, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
Garments passing to Indian hands
 
 



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[ALOCHONA] Canada News



কানাডায় রক্তে এলকোহল নিয়ে গাড়ি চালানোর দিন শেষ

http://www.thebengalitimes.ca/details.php?pub_no=44&menu_id=2&val=1700

Samia Jaman
-------------------
Project Director
FTV
777-112 Huntlay, Toronto
ON M6H 1V4
CANADA.
 



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[ALOCHONA] August 15 in Retrospect: Walk the Memory Lane



Let us read & ponder and then try to neutralize the points given by the author.
 
 
August 15 in Retrospect: Walk the Memory Lane


August 15 is round the corner. On this day in 1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, most of his family members and some relatives died in a pre-dawn military coup. According to the Awami League government-arranged trial, it was a "murder" or "assassination". The defense and others, however, argued that those deaths--including a few from the attackers--took place in crossfire and could, at worst, be termed as casualties of a successful coup. Nonetheless, unnatural deaths are not at all desirable and it is extremely unfortunate that Sheikh Mujib and others had to die that way.

During the following 21 years, August 15 passed quietly and few really bothered to recall the day. After Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, became Prime Minister in 1996, she initiated a trial for the killing and made August 15 a 'Mourning Day'. The process remained suspended during the next 7 years of BNP plus Caretaker administration from 2001 to 2008. Sheikh Hasina became Prime Minister again in January 2009 and quickly restarted the process from where she left. Five of the accused coup leaders, who were at hand languishing in Dhaka jail for long 13 years, were quickly sent to gallow.

The Hasina government reinstituted the 'Mourning Day' and August 15 has since been observed as such by the Awami League and its sponsored supporters. On the other hand, most others consider it a 'Day of Deliverance' because the day heralded a new democratic beginning for the country, bailing it out from the ugly clutch of an autocratic repression.

Walk the Memory Lane:

To understand the genesis of August 15, one needs to go back in time to the Bangladesh of that period (1972-75), which those who lived through and experienced can only visualize. Generations in their late forties and below perhaps only heard or read about that period, again interpreting it from their personal perceptions and political orientations. It will be totally illogical and unfair to evaluate August 15 by those who did not walk that period.

Overtly though, the military coup of August 15, 1975 was staged by a group of about two dozen young officers and participated by two half-sized units, however, it seemed to have covert support of almost the entire military, as well as the whole nation. Following known facts corroborate it:


1. When under attack, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman called then army Chief General Safiullah for help. According to Safiullah's own admission, he was helpless as he found that the whole army was supportive of the coup.



2. The moment Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf, then army chief of the general staff, learnt that the main guns of the tanks that were out for the coup were without ammunition, he immediately ordered shells for the guns.



3. By 10 am on August 15, chiefs of army, navy, air force, BDR, police, JRB (Jatiyo Rakkhi Bahini) and Ansars rushed to the Dhaka Radio to announce their support for the coup and loyalty to the new president.



4. If the military did not support the coup, it could have crushed that handful of officers and men within hours, if not minutes.


As for the public support for the coup, one may note the following:


1. Hardly any Innalillah….was heard upon the news of Sheikh Mujib's death. In fact, people said to have heaved a sigh of relief with an Alhamdulillah.



2. There was not an iota of resistance or protest from any quarter anywhere following the coup or "killing" of Sheikh Mujbur Rahman. One may check the newspapers in the archives for facts.



3. During the 2-hour relaxation of curfew for Jummah prayer on August 15, 1975 (it was a Friday), people swarmed the Dhaka streets in thousands in jubilation and celebration of the success of the coup. Similar celebrations were reported from other parts of the country. The scenario may only be compared to the victory day celebration of December 16, 1971.



4. People offered special prayers and distributed sweets on the day. Such celebrations were also reported form Bangladeshi communities abroad.


Political Support:


1. The post coup administration was formed entirely by the Awami League members of the parliament; only exception was that former president Justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhury was given the foreign ministry portfolio. None of the coup leaders was seen within miles of the new administration.



2. Veteran Awami Leaguer Abdul Malek Ukil said on the fall of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman that the country was saved form a Zalim Feroun. Malek Ukil later became the President of Awami League and Speaker of the House.



3. Following the August 15 coup, newspapers and TV channel were filled with greetings from various political, educational and cultural groups from all over the country. Again, one may visit the media archives-- national and international---to find facts.


Diplomatic Acknowledgement:

The new government formed after the August 15 coup was immediately welcomed and recognized by international community, including India, the US, the USSR and the UK. China and Saudi Arabia accorded recognition to Bangladesh for the first time.

The reasons for the overwhelming local and international support for the August 15 coup are not far to seek. Following facts may give an idea:


1. 40 Thousand Political Opponents Eliminated: According to various estimates, the Rakkhi Bahini, a para-military political force and other draconian elements of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, killed 35 to 40 thousand political opponents and dissidents. Mujib himself bragged the death of leftist leader Siraj Sikdar in the Parliament. According to Professor Aftab Ahmed (a top former Chatra League leader) of Dhaka University, nearly 42,000 political activists killed and about 86,000 jailed between 1972 to 1975 (The Daily Star Nov 1998).



2. Half a Million Lives Lost Due to Corruption: The man-made famine of 1974-75 took nearly half a million lives. There was no dearth of relief materials but they did not reach the needy; they were hoarded at the AL leaders' personal warehouses instead, to be sold in the black markets or dispensed on political expediency. Most dead could not receive the minimum burial rituals for want of clothes. Men and animals struggled for food in the city garbage. To add to the irony or insult, people witnessed the royal style weddings and birthday celebrations at Gonobhaban, Sheikh Mujib's official residence, around the same time. Check NY Times of December13, 24, 1974 and January 26, 1975; the Washington Post of November 8, 1974 plus other media sources.



3. Political Rights and Press Freedom Snatched: Under the emergency of 1974, all fundamental rights were suspended, political activities banned, social gatherings restricted and all but four government controlled media outlets were closed. It was Morar Upar Kharar Gha!



4. Dictatorship Formalized: In January 1975, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman amassed all state powers to himself by changing the constitution in 20 minutes without any debate, thereby becoming an absolute dictator.



5. One-Party Formed, Democracy Buried: In early 1975, Sheikh Mujib formed one-party BAKSAL (Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League), banning all other political parties. For the first time, bureaucracy and military were politicized by allowing them to join the BAKSAL. Sixty-one political Governors or Commissars were to take post in 61 districts on September 1, 1975.


There is no doubt that Sheikh Mujibur Rahman contributed greatly to the awakening of Bengalis in then East Pakistan and he was a great inspiration for their fight for the independence in 1971. However, he never himself talked of an independent East Pakistan or Bangladesh. His demands and fight were for the autonomy of East Pakistan, based on some Bengali civil servants-devised 6 Points, within the framework of Pakistan. He did have a towering presence but not the intellect and vision of Nehru, Gandhi or Mandela. In an overt pretense of greatness, he at times showed characters of misunderstood complications. He failed to come out of his narrow greed for self-glorification in one hand while blind weakness for family and party members on the other. He and his followers took it granted that Bangladesh was a personal property and everything of importance must bear his name. He could never come to terms with Ziaur Rahman who dared to declare the independence of Bangladesh after the Pakistani crackdown on Bengalis on March 25/26, 1971 and with Tajuddin who risked forming the Bangladesh government in exile on April 17, 1971 and successfully steered it through the war of independence.

On a closer look, Sheikh Mujib's politics were hardly without controversies, some of which proved to be very costly for the nation. Let us revisit 1971 alone and pose a few questions to the nation:


1. Why did Sheikh Mujib request General Khadem Hussain Raja in Dhaka on the night of March 6, 1971 to be taken into custody (if the accounts of Siddiq Salek in the "Wintness to Surrender" to be believed)?



2. Why did Sheikh Mujib come out with "…..Ebarer Sangram Swadhinatar Sangram, Ebarer Sangram Muktir Sangram…..." and ended his speech with "Pakistan Zindabad" rather than the much expected Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) of Bangladesh on March 7, 1971?



3. Why did Sheikh Mujib choose to enter into a protracted negotiation with the Pakistani military junta for the unity and solidarity of Pakistan from March 15 to 24, 1971 even though he called for a 'Swadhinatar Sangram' on March 7?



4. Why did Sheikh Mujib continue the dialogue---and publicly speak of its 'progress'---with the military, which was openly militarizing East Pakistan with an ominous evil design?



5. Why did Sheikh Mujib snub at the suggestion provided by a representative (Capt Amin Ahmed Chowdhury) of senior Bengali offices in Chittagong namely, Lt Col M R Chowdhury, Major Ziaur Rahman, Capt Rafiqul Islam and others that a military crackdown on the Bengalis was imminent and if permitted they could take counter measures?



6. Why should Sheikh Mujib not take part blame for the Operation Searchlight by the Pakistanis aimed at annihilating the Bengalis for not taking preemptive measures to counter it? It was unthinkable for a politician of his stature not to visualize its advent, the early warning from Chittagong notwithstanding. A timely political decision and counter measures could have saved the lives of thousand of Bengalis on March 25/26, 1971 and then after.



7. Why did Sheikh Mujib choose to surrender on the night of March 25, 1971 rather than make moves to lead the nation for a liberation war? Reportedly, Tajuddin Ahmed, ASM Abdur Rob and others went to his residence the same night requesting him to leave the house, which Sheikh Mujib declined. Tajuddin and Rob said to have brought prepared UDIs but Mujib refused to sign on the ground that the Pakistanis would then brand him and try him as traitor. What a loyalty to Pakistan even at that crucial moment!



8. Why and how did Sheikh Mujibur Rahman call US Ambassador in Islamabad Joseph Farland before his surrender at midnight on March 25/26, 1971? Such a call at that juncture could only be possible with the help of Pakistan military authority.



9. Why was the family of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman allowed to stay at his Dhanmondi residence under the care and protection of the Pakistan military during the entire period of the war, even though he was being tried as a 'traitor' and two of his sons were in Mukti Bahini? The Sheikh family was so peaceful and happy that Sheikh Hasina had son Joy during that period. Few families in occupied Bangladesh having members in Mukti Bahini were so fortunate!



10. Why did Sheikh Mujib never visit the wartime Mujibnagar capital in Kushtia where Tajuddin formed the Bangladesh exile government on April 17, 1971? Was it his disapproval of the Government-in-Exile, which won the independence without him (Sheikh Mujib)? Perhaps, it was not in Sheikh Mujib,s character to credit persons who outsmarted him, be that Ziaur Rahman or Tajuddin.


Yet, Bangladeshis are forced to call Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the "Bangabandhu" and "Jatir Pita" under a punishable law enacted by his daughter!!

As the AL government and a section of people mourn August 15, they should also pause and recall the killing of some 40 thousand political opponents and loss of almost half a million lives in the 'man-made' famine (due to corruption) under Shiekh Mujibur Rahman.


A Obaid Chowdhury
NY, USA.
July 30, 2010


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Re: [ALOCHONA] Has the Supreme Court Judgment indirectly nullified the 1/11 changeover?



Without being diligent in looking into all the legal jergons and whatever it may be called that is evolving on the constitutional framework amendement now and then. it appears to me, as a layman whole excercise is focused on maligning some one and it look like Ziaur Rahman's 5th amendment and the General himself. So fourth amendment or Ershad's amendment, Main U Ahmed's amendment all are not matters.
 
Just try to listen to them, it is the same corus all in and around them.
 
Only good think is despite all the sercasm and chastisement yet few people with or without ambiguity talking against the main stream. 
My only hope is anything is done should be done for betterment of our people in general not for those so called 'shadinotar pokhyer' or AL - the first vilifier of the constitution.
 
May Suranjit speak in polite and intelligent way and make move that he can sustain and actions taken has general acceptance, so that before he dies atleast he leaves his foot print for newly emerged 'bangladeshi' nationals.
 
Good lucck to bangals.
 


--- On Thu, 29/7/10, mimunshi <MBIMunshi@gmail.com> wrote:

From: mimunshi <MBIMunshi@gmail.com>
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Has the Supreme Court Judgment indirectly nullified the 1/11 changeover?
To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, 29 July, 2010, 7:35 PM

 

Has the Supreme Court Judgment indirectly nullified the 1/11 changeover and should Gen. Moin U. Ahmed

                                  be tried for subverting the Constitution?            

 

 

After carefully reading the text of the judgment of the Supreme Court in the 5th Amendment Case it suddenly occurred to me that the breadth of the ruling would also cover what occurred after January 11, 2007 when Gen. Moin U. Ahmed and his close military associates subverted, mutilated, held in abeyance and amended the constitution by extending the caretaker government concept beyond the 90 days limit that is specifically mentioned in the Constitution. It may also be observed that the two years in which the Caretaker Government was operative there was in fact indirect military rule.

 

The relevant part of the 5th Amendment judgment reads –

 

"We are of the view that in the spirit of the Preamble and also Article 7 of the Constitution the Military Rule, direct or indirect, is to be shunned once for all. Let it be made clear that Military Rule was wrongly justified in the past and it ought not to be justified in the future on any ground, principle, doctrine or theory whatsoever as the same is against the dignity, honour and glory of the nation that it achieved after great sacrifice; … it is also against the honour of each and every soldier of the Armed Forces who are oath bound to bear true faith and allegiance to Bangladesh and uphold the Constitution which embodies the will of the people, honestly and faithfully to serve Bangladesh in their respective services and also see that the Constitution is upheld, it is not kept in suspicion, abrogated, it is not subverted, it is not mutilated, and to say the least it is not held in abeyance and it is not amended by any authority not competent to do so under the Constitution. "

 

Logic dictates that everything done in pursuance of the 1/11 agenda is automatically nullified by the judgment including the elections of 2008 that were held under indirect military rule! This would, of course, be a very audacious and unexpected outcome clearly not envisaged by the Supreme Court judges. If even part of my analysis is correct then the following part of the judgment becomes highly relevant –

 

"While dismissing the leave petitions we are putting on record our total disapproval of Martial Law and suspicion of the Constitution or any part thereof in any form. The perpetrators of such illegalities should also be suitably punished and condemned so that in future no adventurist, no usurper, would dare to defy the people, their Constitution, their Government, established by them with their consent. However, it is the Parliament which can make law in this regard. Let us bid farewell to all kinds of extra constitutional adventure forever."

 

One may certainly make an arguable legal case that Gen. Moin U. Ahmed was an adventurist, usurper and defied the people, the Constitution and the Government. The country therefore waits impatiently for Gen. Moin 's punishment and condemnation as Parliament no where extended the 90 day rule set on the Caretaker Government which he and others ignored to the utter detriment of the nation.   

                                                                                  

 

                                          




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[ALOCHONA] Saline contamination of drinking water in Bangladesh



Saline contamination of drinking water in Bangladesh
 
Water-related crises are not a new problem in Bangladesh. The discovery of arsenic in drinking water was deemed "the largest mass poisoning of a population in history",1 threatening the lives of millions. Now Bangladesh is facing another environmental and health threat due to man-made and natural factors: increased salinity.
Estimates indicate that Bangladesh has about 2·8 million hectares of land that is affected by salinity—ie, a third of the 9 million hectares of total national cultivated area, and about a fifth of the total area of Bangladesh.2
 
Saline intrusion from sea water owing to reduction of freshwater flow from upstream (partly owing to the establishment of the Farrakka Barrage on the Ganges near the border of Bangladesh) is expected to be aggravated by climate change and sea-level rises.3 It has already had adverse effects on crop productivity and grain production. Now it appears to be a threat to the wellbeing of communities who live in coastal areas of this low-lying nation.
 
Increased salinity of drinking water is likely to have a range of health effects, including increased hypertension rates. Large numbers of pregnant women in the coastal areas are being diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, and hypertension. We reviewed hospital records of antenatal check-ups between January and September, 2007, from the Department of Gynaecology in Chalna Upazilla Health Complex—a clinic based in one of the ports in the southwestern region of Bangladesh. Of 561 women undergoing antenatal check-ups, 118 (21%) between the ages of 16 and 40 years were diagnosed with some kind of hypertensive disorder. This rate is strikingly higher than the 2·65% seen in Matuail (Sameena Chowdhury, personal communication), a non-coastal area, and the prevalences of pregnancy-induced systolic and diastolic hypertension of 6·8% and 5·4%, respectively, in another non-coastal rural community of Bangladesh.4
 
Although local doctors and community representatives have blamed the problem on increased salinity,5 no formal epidemiological study has been done. With both perinatal and maternal mortality remaining persistently high in Bangladesh, an urgent assessment of this situation is warranted.We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

References

1 Smith AH, Lingas EO, Rahman M. Contamination of drinking-water by arsenic in Bangladesh: a public health emergency. Bull World Health Organ 2000; 78: 1093-1103. PubMed
2 Salim M, Maruf B, Chowdhury A, Shamsudoha , Babul A. Increasing salinity threatens productivity of Bangladesh. Dhaka: COAST Trust, 2007. http://www.coastbd.org/Conference%20260507/Pdf%20English/3.pdf. (accessed Dec 20, 2007).
3 Nicholls RJ, Wong PP, Burkett VR, et al. Coastal systems and low-lying areas. Climate change 2007: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
4 Sayeed MA, Mahtab H, Khanam PA, et al. Diabetes and hypertension in pregnancy in a rural community of Bangladesh: a population-based study. Diabet Med 2005; 22: 1267-1271. CrossRef | PubMed
5 Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA). Dhaka: Ministry of Environment and Forest, 2005. http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/napa/ban01.pdf. (accessed Dec 20, 2007).
a Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Imperial College London, London W2 1PG, UK
b Departments of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Upazilla Health Complex Dacope, Khulna, Bangladesh
c London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
d Grantham Institute for Climate Change, Imperial College London, London, UK
 


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[ALOCHONA] No problem with Tipaimukh Dam: Bangladesh official



No problem with Tipaimukh Dam: Bangladesh official
 

SHILLONG, July 31: Bangladesh today made it clear that it has no problem with the proposed construction of the 1500 mega watt Tipaimukh Hydroelectric project in Manipur if India does without harming its environment and jeopardizing rights of its citizens.

"Bangladesh has no problem with the construction of the project if the Government of India can do without harming and keep in mind grievances we have already expressed," Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board chairman Bhuiyan Shafiqul Islam said speaking to Imphal Free Press here.

The Bangladesh official (Islam) is in Meghalaya's capital Shillong attending the "Empowering North East Summit" jointly organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Meghalayagovernment at Hotel Pinewood.

"There is cynicism in our people that construction of Tipaimukh dam would pose negative impact on our environment and jeopardize our rights. But if the Indian government can do by keeping all these problems in mind and without harming, there will be no problem," Islam said.

The stand taken by Bangladesh to accept the project with condition as expressed by Islam, assumed significance days after the assurance made by Union Minister of State for Water Resources, Vincent H Pala who endorsed the stand of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tipaimukh that "India would take Dhaka into confidence before going ahead with the project, so as not to hamper the friendly Indo-Bangla ties."

However, though India's government- owned NHPC Limited had already floated a joint venture company with the government of Manipur and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Limited on April 28 last for implementation of the 1500 MW Multi-Purpose Project, Pala also maintained that views of the local indigenous people will be also taken into confidence before going ahead with the project.

The project would be located 500 meters downstream of the confluence of the Tuivai and Barak Rivers in Manipur's Churachandpur district just 100 km off from Amalshid border of Jakigang of Sylhet district of Bangladesh and is likely to affect two major rivers of Bangladesh, namely the Surma and the Kushiara and another 60000 Manipuri people who depend on the river for livelihood and other activities.

Bangladesh government had sent a team of experts and diplomats to assess the impact of the proposed dam on the livelihood of its citizen living downstream.

Bangladeshi experts estimated that the massive dam will disrupt the seasonal rhythm of the river and have an adverse effect on downstream agriculture and fisheries.

According to the Bangladeshi experts and environmentalists, the dam would have adverse impacts on the ecology, environment and economy of the northeastern region of Bangladesh. The proposed dam falls at the confluence of Indo-Burma, Indo-Malayan and Indo-Chinese biodiversity hotspot zone.

These areas are characterized by the presence of a large number of plant and animal species, like tiger, hillock gibbon, hornbill, turtle, dolphin etc. many of which are not seen or seldom witnessed in other parts of the world.

The Action Committee Against Tipaimukh Project (ACTIP) consisting of local people of the affected area of the project have strongly opposed the construction of the dam.
ACTIP has also termed the signing of the MoU as "undemocratic" accusing the Manipur government of going ahead with the project without taking the local people's consent.

Apart from ACTIP several organisations like Citizens Concern for Dams and Development (CCDD), Committee on Land and Natural Resources (COLNAR), Sinlung Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Organisation (SIPHRO) and others are protesting against the project on the ground that the Tipaimukh dam would have adverse impact on the environment and socio-economic lives of the local people living near the project area in the states of Manipur, Assam and Mizoram.

http://mizoramexpress.com/index.php/2010/08/no-problem-with-tipaimukh-dam-bangladesh-official/

Open debate on Tipaimukh Dam:

http://mizoramexpress.com/index.php/2010/06/open-debate-on-tipaimukh-dam/

Tipaimukh Dam Project: The Final View:

http://mizoramexpress.com/wp-content/uploads/Tipaimukh-Ruonglevaisuo-300-x-190-200x126.jpg



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[ALOCHONA] Mizannur Rhman Khan's analysis on Constitution



Mizannur Rhman Khan's analysis on Constitution
 
 
 
 
See Mizannur Rhman Khan's more articles here:   http://mrkhanbd.com/article.php


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