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	<title>E-Bangladesh</title>
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		<title>Why is India killing Bangladeshis?</title>
		<link>http://www.e-bangladesh.org/2010/03/15/why-is-india-killing-bangladeshis/</link>
		<comments>http://www.e-bangladesh.org/2010/03/15/why-is-india-killing-bangladeshis/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:49:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>j@shadakalo</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog Views]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[J @ Shada Kalo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Newsline]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BDR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BSF]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[INDO-BANGLA Relationship]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.e-bangladesh.org/?p=2334</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Unlike the militaries of Bangladesh of the past and Pakistan even now, the Indian military has always seen itself subordinate to its political masters. As one book review stated, &#8220;Independent India has never known a military  coup d&#8217;état  &#8211; scarcely even the rumour of one.&#8221;
Even the harshest enemies of India and its military [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Unlike the militaries of Bangladesh of the past and Pakistan even now, the Indian military has always seen itself subordinate to its political masters. As one book review stated, &#8220;Independent India has never known a military  coup d&#8217;état  &#8211; scarcely even the rumour of one.&#8221;</p>
<p>Even the harshest enemies of India and its military (that would be Pakistan and China, both have fought wars against India) will not claim that the Indian military acts outside the chain of command.</p>
<p>This is a testament to the democratic principles practiced by the armed services in the world&#8217;s largest democracy.</p>
<p>India&#8217;s border security force (BSF) is not part of the Indian Military&#8211;it is under the purview of Ministry of Home Affairs, and is considered a law enforcement agency.</p>
<p>The Daily Star and other newspapers are reporting:</p>
<blockquote><p>Bangladesh Rifles and the Indian Border Security Force traded gunfire for around three hours yesterday after BSF crossed the Jaintapur border in Sylhet and shot locals.</p>
<p>At least 15 villagers were injured in the BSF firing, reports our staff correspondent from Sylhet.</p>
<p>The BDR and BSF jawans fired more than a thousand shots, forcing the villagers to flee their homes, said eyewitnesses.</p>
<p>The skirmish took place a day after BSF intruded into Bangladesh, dug bunkers and retreated following a flag meeting.</p>
<p>Only three days back, the Indian frontier force assured their Bangladesh counterpart of no more killing of villagers in the bordering areas. The assurance came when directors general of the two forces met in New Delhi.</p>
<p>Some 40 Indian Khasia people entered the Bangladesh territory through Muktapur-Jaintapur at around 10:30am.</p>
<p>An hour later, they were joined by a hundred more. Backed by the Indian border guards, they soon began erecting bamboo huts at Mandir Tila, about 300 yards off the no-man&#8217;s land.</p>
<p>As they refused to leave on repeated requests from the villagers, a brawl ensued. Hurling stones, the two sides chased each other for an hour.<br />
&#8230;<br />
Talking to The Daily Star last night, BDR Director General Major Gen Md Mainul Islam termed the incident &#8220;very regretful”.</p>
<p>He said the BSF stopped firing after BDR had contacted the Indian side.</p>
<p>He observed the decisions taken at the recent director general-level meet do not seem to have been communicated to the BSF officials at the grassroots level.</p></blockquote>
<p>Really? A DG-level meeting directive has not filtered down to the sector commanders on the Indian side? So is it possible that the BSF, a much smaller force than the Indian military, has a broken chain of communication and/or is actively defying its political masters and even its own director general?</p>
<p>Given the history and culture of Indian armed forces, it is not just unlikely, it is impossible.</p>
<p>Which leads me to the conclusion that the incursion inside Bangladesh and shooting at unarmed civilians by BSF occurred with an informed consent or even a direct order from India&#8217;s government.</p>
<p>In short, India&#8217;s prime minister and the home minister has the blood of innocent Bangladeshis on their hands.</p>
<p>I have no idea why India is doing this to a friendly government that poses no threat to India (unlike the BNP government that actively patronised Indian insurgents). I do not have to understand India&#8217;s motivation to condemn it.</p>
<p>But what is worse is the pussyfooting on Bangladesh&#8217;s part. Where is the report about the foreign ministry asking the Indian envoy to explain his nation&#8217;s actions? Where is the protest? Oh&#8211;I guess those did not happen.</p>
<p>Friendship with India is a necessity for Bangladesh. But it must be based on mutual trust, respect and understanding, not one-way murder of Bangladeshi people by India.</p>
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		<title>An impassioned account of revulsion for BNP and Tareque</title>
		<link>http://www.e-bangladesh.org/2010/03/11/an-impassioned-account-of-revulsion-for-bnp-and-tareque/</link>
		<comments>http://www.e-bangladesh.org/2010/03/11/an-impassioned-account-of-revulsion-for-bnp-and-tareque/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:52:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rasel Pervez</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog Views]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BNP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tarique rahman]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.e-bangladesh.org/?p=2332</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The opposition party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP has decided to observe 7th  March as the Jail Day as on this day, Tareque Rahman, now senior vice-chairman of BNP, was taken into custody by caretaker government for corruption and abuse of power. Zealously BNP also termed it as “Black Night” on their posters. These [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The opposition party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP has decided to observe 7th  March as the Jail Day as on this day, Tareque Rahman, now senior vice-chairman of BNP, was taken into custody by caretaker government for corruption and abuse of power. Zealously BNP also termed it as “Black Night” on their posters. These extolling actions of the senior BNP leaders merely give us some ideas about the lack of personality in them – the spinelessness of the Bangladeshi partisan politicians. Most of the politicians in Bangladesh lack a respectable character; they basically try to go in the raptures with all their might to remain in good terms with the family members of the ruling and opposition party leaders.  Basically, it appears that many of the party activities are spent trying to entertain the families of the ruling and opposition party leaders who have virtually turned the democracy into a bi-family tradition-democracy.   </p>
<p>A senior BNP leader has remarked, Tareque is a diamond, and its brightness could not be shadowed. EmazUddin Ahmed praised Tareque Rahman, and wrote and published a book on Tareque, and Khaleda Zia, chairperson of BNP and also Tareque’s mother. BNP lacks a healthy balanced political culture but this is way off the road, 7th March is a significant day in the history of Bangladesh, and the idea that any political party out of political hatred and rivalry could observe this monumentally important day in the history of Bangladesh as the Jail Day is unbelievably outlandish. Any political party which does not respect the history of struggle for freedom of Bangladesh has no right to claim itself as peoples’ representative. These tendencies are abominable and nauseating.  </p>
<p>While in the jail custody, once Tarek Rahman slipped on the wet bathroom floor. After hearing this news, Chatrodol, student wing of BNP and other partisans ran havoc on the streets of Shahbagh and from this outrage and chaos, a life was claimed. Those who lead this heinous disorder,  amongst them, were the student leaders of DU, who have enough political capability and credentials to lead BNP in future if our traditional family oriented political hierarchy can be somehow bypassed. Such is the picture of the future leadership!   </p>
<p>Our respected intellectuals have sold their souls. They are not intellectual any more, rather they convey the political dogmas of the two main political parties and act as active partisans, raise their voices and polish their visions according to the political propagandas of those political parties they are affiliated with morally or ideologically. This deference has gave them earthly possessions but in that same process they have lost their public acceptance. The intellectuals who are backing the new coinage of 7th March as the ‘Jail Day’ are actually the examples of the celebration of pathetic personality whose vow is to get promotions and plots of land.  </p>
<p>Tareque Rahman lacks political visions and he is immoral and unethical. I personally don’t think he is capable of leading Bangladesh; his only plus point is he is the son of  Ziaur Rahman, former president of Bangladesh, and Khaleda Zia, former primer of Bangladesh. But he has inherited all the bad qualities of his parents and lacks the good ones. He is not brave, almost always he failed to lead by example but like all cowards, he is shrewd. The way a gutless and dastardly person is corrupt and hypocritical, Tareque is also a person of the similar kind of besmirched political ambitions. His political aims contain horrifying vilification and malevolence and after polluting the politics and political culture colossally, at his own hands, BNP will dwindle away.  </p>
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		<item>
		<title>Much Ado About Nothing</title>
		<link>http://www.e-bangladesh.org/2010/03/09/much-ado-about-nothing/</link>
		<comments>http://www.e-bangladesh.org/2010/03/09/much-ado-about-nothing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:10:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maskwaith Ahsan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog Views]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[declaration of independence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Father of the nation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[march 7]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.e-bangladesh.org/?p=2324</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I am almost as old as Bangladesh. While I may not be considered young anymore, my country is still a child. Thirty-nine years is nothing but the age of teething in the life of nations. The country still needs to be handled with care. Before its birth, the people of then East Pakistan had dreamt [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I am almost as old as Bangladesh. While I may not be considered young anymore, my country is still a child. Thirty-nine years is nothing but the age of teething in the life of nations. The country still needs to be handled with care. Before its birth, the people of then East Pakistan had dreamt of a secular and equal society with a passion that drove them to walk on the fiery path of freedom. Bengalis had to fight back the linguistic and cultural aggression of Pakistan, and keep up the struggle against discrimination and inequity.</p>
<p>Sher-e-Bangla, Hussain Shaheed Suharwardi, Maulana Bhashani and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib, among many others, fearlessly led the march towards independence. Even though Bangabandhu may appear to some as a revolutionary leader, he initially tried all democratic ways to end the sufferings of Bengalis. But when the rulers of then West Pakistan stubbornly refused to respect his people’s will, Bangabandhu had to go for independence.</p>
<p>Like Gandhi and Jinnah, Bangabandhu changed the course of South Asian history by giving the people of Bangladesh the right to chart their own destinies. But whereas in India Gandhi is considered above any political reproach and in Pakistan Jinnah gets equal respect from all political quarters, the same cannot be said of Bangladesh where honoring Bangabandhu depends solely on political egos. Deep political polarization questions even his patriotism, let alone popularity.</p>
<p>In India not even the right wing Bharatiya Janata Party dares to question or criticize Gandhi or no Congress politician claims superiority of Nehru over Gandhi. In Pakistan even the People’s Party cannot pull off comparing Bhutto to Jinnah. Yet, in Bangladesh efforts to denounce the Father of the Nation by aimless comparison with Ziaur Rahman continue unabated.</p>
<p>On March 7, 1971, Sheikh Mujib addressed the nation in which he gave the final signal for an armed struggle for freedom. The declaration of independence was made a couple of weeks later on March 26, 1971, but that was just a formality. The people of Bangladesh already knew in their hearts what was announced that day.</p>
<p>As a journalist I have worked with several veteran broadcasters and radio engineers who were instrumental in establishing the then clandestine radio station, Shadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, in 1971. These broadcasters and engineers have repeatedly confirmed publicly, and to me personally, that then Major Ziaur Rahman was invited by broadcaster Belal Mohammad to read out the declaration of independence as a mark of the army’s support to our freedom fight. On March 27, 1971, veteran broadcaster Abdullah Al Farooq witnessed Ziaur Rahman reading out of the same declaration on behalf of Sheikh Mujib. History will always laugh at the immature attempts of BNP to portray that reading of the declaration by Ziaur Rahman as an act of independent or individual announcement of freedom. After all Ziaur Rahman was an unknown voice on the airwaves at that time; he fought the war of independence as a sector commander under the military leadership of General Osmani and the civilian leadership of Sheikh Mujib.</p>
<p>After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975, Bangladesh became mired in conspiracies, coups and counter coups. To hold the fledgling nation together, a socialist leader, Colonel Taher, released Ziaur Rahman from house arrest and convinced him to take over the reins of the country. (The fact that Colonel Taher was later court martialled and sentenced to death under the very leadership of Ziaur Rahman is a story for another time.) As Sheikh Mujibur Rahman already had the status of being the Father of the Nation, attempts by BNP to snatch that status is nothing but futile and divisive. If such an accolade is necessary for the continuation of hereditary politics then perhaps Ziaur Rahman can be honored as the Brother of the Nation. BNP supporters and their Jamaat friends would do really well to learn from their Indian and Pakistani counterparts that giving respect to the Father of the Nation is synonymous to paying tribute to the birth of a nation.</p>
<p>When Ziaur Rahman himself never claimed the Kalurghat radio address as his own declaration, should the BNP do so? And then there is also the audio evidence of him reading out of the declaration of independence on behalf of Sheikh Mujib. Throughout his years in power, Ziaur Rahman remained silent about Sheikh Mujib, possibly because he had to rehabilitate Mujib’s killers and ‘71war criminals. But he never publicly downplayed Mujib. Yet, BNP MPs have shown no qualms about using uncouth language against the Father of the Nation. The Awami League MPs are no better, using their brute-majority voice in using similar politically incorrect words against Ziaur Rahman. This quarrel has all the echoes of the Lilliputian-Blefuscudian conflict, with enough dough for endless media entertainment.</p>
<p>How come we never see this ferocity of political competition when it comes to ensuring basic necessities like food, shelter, security and human rights? As a result the party in power is left alone to tackle such issues in whatever little time it can spare from this continuous sparring for future votes. This strategy works well for every opposition party: it ensures victory in next elections. What these political parties need to understand is that such an-eye-for-an-eye political tactics have lost their adrenalin factor for the masses, because while they bicker for power, the voters of Bangladesh watch from the sidelines as their loved ones die unattended in government hospitals or their kids fall prey to malnutrition, fall victim to university gun fights, extrajudicial killings, militancy and so on.</p>
<p>Bangladesh recently managed to get the western nod of approval in tackling militancy, but the ongoing extrajudicial killings and unrest in Chittagong Hill Tracts will attract even less investment and earn the country a bad image. But then who cares about image. Dhaka has been assessed as the worst city in the world after Harare in terms of insecurity and traffic woes.</p>
<p>Ideally, our political leader should be spending sleepless nights over such multi-edged crisis, instead of appearing in news clips as wrestlers or soap opera villains. Countries of the same age as Bangladesh have earned at least a middle income status. In today’s modern world, national issues like the honor of the Father of the Nation and freedom fighters or agendas like war criminal trials are tackled by competent legal systems, and not by making a mockery of them.</p>
<p>BNP should maybe think ten times before abusing Sheikh Mujibur Rahman or supporting war criminals and militant forces. And Awami League, as a veteran political party, should be more careful about defaming Ziaur Rahman. Both parties are now at the crossroads where they need to decide how they want to be remembered: with respect or with hatred. Hasn’t enough time been wasted for Sheikh Hasina and Khalida Zia to respond to the mass appeal and stop this ‘much ado about nothing’.</p>
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		<item>
		<title>Signboard Change: A Political Correction</title>
		<link>http://www.e-bangladesh.org/2010/03/04/signboard-change-a-political-correction/</link>
		<comments>http://www.e-bangladesh.org/2010/03/04/signboard-change-a-political-correction/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:26:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Manirul Islam</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog Views]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Manirul Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zia International Airport]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.e-bangladesh.org/?p=2322</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The neon of ZIA finally went off. Speculations buried but the action has spawned enormous demagogy in all type of media formats, as usual. More than BNP had it, it gave our gloriously neutral intellectuals fodder to indulge profusely in munch and muse. The comments discreetly chided Government’s act as meanness, madness or dastardly. Sorority [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The neon of ZIA finally went off. Speculations buried but the action has spawned enormous demagogy in all type of media formats, as usual. More than BNP had it, it gave our gloriously neutral intellectuals fodder to indulge profusely in munch and muse. The comments discreetly chided Government’s act as meanness, madness or dastardly. Sorority of critics factored into the benefit of Zia’s faltering image. But abstract intellectualism does not diminish pertinence of an argument on this issue; on public radar, it is neither trivial nor ignorable. To find justification in name-change practices of public installations by either party, someone may need to look into our political gamut with certain degree of above-partisan-judiciousness. Reasoning should start in recognizing the degree of ideological and genetic differences that exist between two main political polarities; in broad brush &#8211; one is a coalition of pro-liberation lineage, the DNA of the other party manifests genetic fusion of contradicting ideologies like faith merchants, Naxal and Paki Dalal. The next step needs further integrity of brain waves of readers to get answers of the following questions:   </p>
<p>      &#8211;         Can the existing differences of two mainstream politics be accommodated in democracy? </p>
<p>      &#8211;         Ghulam Azam, as the then GS of DUCSU, presided over first protest meeting of Language Movement at historic ‘Amtola’. Today we do not recognize him as a ‘Bhasha Sainik’ because of his subsequent legacy of treachery and crime against Bangalees, their language and culture. Drawing parallels, can we yet call Ziaur Rahman a Freedom Fighter? </p>
<p>      &#8211;         Do you believe in faith based politics?  </p>
<p>If the answers of above questions are ‘No’ then we may find merit and logic in this latest name change action and also in future cleansing and overhaul required to make our democracy functional. In this context, one can always debate the logic of naming the most important artery of our country after Hajrat Shahjalal, an Arab invader and preacher. The seminal reason may be appeasement with the Islamic sentiment giving them a sense of a sanitized image of secularism and a non-controversial spiritual image of the airport, rather than a toxic partisan image.   </p>
<p>If any of the answers is yes, attempts at any argument is futile. Placement and replacement of signboards, epitaphs, even the history of a country will continue unabated with the change of rulers. Our future generations will keep growing up in an utter ambiguity and confusion, without knowing our own history correctly and without having judgment who is the national hero and who the villain is.   </p>
<p>The proliferation of this discordant politics always mutilates our democracy and tears apart the very fabric of our nation. The crisis trespasses political boundary and ploughs into our conscience, into our moral ground. Today, to remain neutral or to be complacent to the status quo may be permissible only in ‘Narodnik’ circles of intelligentsia. For the public, who in the darkest hour of the night, yet map their routes with reference to 1971, who still fill their heart with the dreams of martyrs, who are extremely biased to genesis of Bangladesh – for them it is the opportune moment to consolidate and to charge ahead again to obliterate once and for all the coalition of enemies in every front; enemy of democracy, enemy of history and enemy of 71.   </p>
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		<item>
		<title>Chaotic Energy Situtaion in the Offing</title>
		<link>http://www.e-bangladesh.org/2010/02/26/chaotic-energy-situtaion-in-the-offing/</link>
		<comments>http://www.e-bangladesh.org/2010/02/26/chaotic-energy-situtaion-in-the-offing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Feb 2010 11:51:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>E-Bangladesh</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog Views]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kh.A.Saleque.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Newsline]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bangladesh energy sector]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PDB]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.e-bangladesh.org/?p=2315</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On June 23, 2009 in the Energy related round table conference at CIRDAP Auditorium, Dhaka, we made several recommendations to confront prevailing and emerging energy crisis. The round table was attended by the Energy Advisor of Prime Minister, current State Minister of Energy, some leading Parliamentarians, current Chairman of Petrobangla, Current and Past FBCCI presidents, and many other authoritative figures of the sector. We discussed issues relevant to energy crisis, gas crunch and discussed various issues and options. It was the 7th year of launching of Energy &#038; Power news magazine. In June 2009, Bangladesh was in the grip of serious energy crisis. People were greatly suffering but still had sympathy for newly installed Coalition government and were optimistic that pro-liberation pro-people government would do its best to redress the situation.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://www.e-bangladesh.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/pdb-400x266.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="266" /><br />
Photo: <em>Bangladesh Power development board (PDB) has been installed wind power project at Kutubdia near to Bay of Bengal with cost of TK. 9.5 crores. At least 1,000 consumers have been under taken this power supply project. Kutubdia, Bangladesh. June 09 2008</em>.by: Mohammad Islam, Coxs Bazar.DrikEWS.</p>
<p>On June 23, 2009 in the Energy related round table conference at CIRDAP Auditorium, Dhaka, we made several recommendations to confront prevailing and emerging energy crisis. The round table was attended by the Energy Advisor of Prime Minister, current State Minister of Energy, some leading Parliamentarians, current Chairman of Petrobangla, Current and Past FBCCI presidents, and many other authoritative figures of the sector. We discussed issues relevant to energy crisis, gas crunch and discussed various issues and options. It was the 7th year of launching of Energy &amp; Power news magazine. In June 2009, Bangladesh was in the grip of serious energy crisis. People were greatly suffering but still had sympathy for newly installed Coalition government and were optimistic that pro-liberation pro-people government would do its best to redress the situation.</p>
<p>Almost a year is gone after that. Another irrigation season has just started and summer is about to set in. Our Dhaka friends and relatives are complaining that gas supply situation has, in fact, worsened; 3-4 hours of power load-shedding has become a current occurrence and last morning media has carried news captioned “PDB fears massive outage”.</p>
<p>We 8 NRBs were in Bangladesh from USA, Australia and Philippines to participate in Government sponsored brain-storming on coal mining strategy. Over a period of 4 days in Jamuna Bridge Resort, we had intensive inactions with Government policy makers and resident Bangladeshi professionals on coal mining strategy. Professional coal miners from hands on mining experience suggested what needs to be done at Barapukuria under performing mine. Mine city planner, GIS experts presented relevant aspects of resettlement and rehabilitation issues. We discussed Environmental and other aspects associated with mining. We also left behind a complete set of recommendations on coal policy. One year is almost whistling away .Coal policy continues to remain in hibernation. Leaving huge domestic coal resource underground vested quarter is conspiring to set up coal fired power plants based on imported coal.</p>
<p>Over the last one year no new gas field was discovered- actually there were no exploration efforts to discover any gas resource. No gas field was further developed .No action was taken to seal leakage of Titas gas field. No new gas transmission infrastructure of gas was set up. Even regular maintenance of gas pipelines to retain design capacity operation was done. Demand has grown in the meantime. Production crisis and transmission constraints of gas system has created crisis over power generation, fertilizer production, operation of industries. Can any democratic government sustain this situation so long? What are the answers of energy sector policy makers?</p>
<p>PM Hasina inaugurated operation of Gas fired Siddhirganj Power Plant only 8 days ago. Gas supply to hundreds of industries of Rupganj and part of other Narayanganj areas were kept suspended to allow gas supply to Siddhirganj Power plant of Indian Company BHEL. Even then due to low gas pressure the plant operation has been shut down.</p>
<p>Last winter Dhaka City and adjoining areas experienced the worst gas crisis of history .None told us that situation improved much.Despearte management went for gas rationing- holiday staggering, planned to shut down CNG fuelling station operation till 4PM on every week days. These may not bring much relief experts apprehends.</p>
<p>According to reliable sources gas deficit is about 300 MMCFD now. National Production capacity is 2000MMCFD but for transmission constraint, only about 1950MMCFD can be transported. Even that transportation is affected by low pressure over entire gas grid as in the main transmission segment N-S Corridor from Beanibazar to Ashuganj transmission system is supersaturated. No on-stream pigging to clean these pipelines has been conducted since the commissioning of these pipelines. There are no pipeline compressor stations in the system. Coalition Government has already run into controversy regarding Muchai Compressor installations. So there is no immediate respite from gas system crisis.</p>
<p>The ensuing irrigation and following summer saw the increase of power demand already by 5000MW per day. PDB can generate about 3800-4000MW. There was little or no addition from last year. PDB claims that about 600MW capacity is lying idle for gas supply crisis. Media reported that Petrobangla confirmed &#8211; not more than 750MMCFD gas can be allotted for power generation this season. PDB claimed that they got 800MMCFD last year.PDB fears of uncontrolled load shedding if Petrobangla can not supply more than 750MMCFD gas for power generation. PDB feels that about 4500MW power generation is possible if it gets about 900MMCFD gas supply per day. It is not only now; we can guarantee that in the next two years too, Petrobangla may not be in a position to supply 900MMMCFD gas supply to PDB for power.</p>
<p>It has been learned that PB is taking actions to increase gas production from Tullow operated Bhangura , Mghna and Titas field. But there is no guarantee that these will be available soon.</p>
<p>Citizens of Bangladesh have every right to question Coalition Government management about non-performance rather non achievement of power sector and gas sector over the last 1.25 years. Why leaving development of energy sector issues uncared for while energy think-tank was busy with useless Road Show at London, New York and Singapore? What benefit these brought to Bangladesh energy sector? Why PDB and Petrobangla Chairman could not resolve gas supply to power generation issues when they were in pleasure trips in the name of Road shows abroad?</p>
<p>We feel Energy Sector policy makers and managers owe explanations to the nation. Prime Minister Hasina as Energy Minister must own her failures.</p>
<p>We can not come out of the crisis so long we can realistically diversify fuel for power generation. We must immediately adopt appropriate coal mining strategy. Domestic coal is our best option for power generation. We must start mining of coal in our mines by economic means to extract maximum resource in proven technique and start setting up some large capacity mine power plants. Plants on imported coal will not be economic and cannot be in less than 5 years in current reality. These are all hypes and ways of trapping Bangladesh permanently on Indian dependence. LNG option is also time-consuming and very expensive.</p>
<p>Gas sector is also suffering from competency crisis. Key management has little capability. There is no way gas system can come out of present crisis in less than 3 years. But some contingency measures can create some comfort. We do not understand why gas saved for routine maintenance of KAFCO and forced outage of CUFL can not bring Raujan and Shikhalbaha to full capacity generation at least temporarily. Fertilizer plants unfortunately are the only ones which has can be shut down on rotations to divert gas for other use including Power plants. PDB must also try to produce maximum from Energy efficient plants. People do not want to listen to blaming games between PDB and Petrobangla.</p>
<p>Actions suggested.</p>
<p><strong>Contingency:</strong></p>
<p>•	Raujan and Sikalbaha must be kept operational over the entire period of KAFCO maintenance.<br />
•	CUFL when back in operation should be operated at optimum gas load.<br />
•	During maintenance of JFCL, GPS must get the gas saved,<br />
•	On-Stream Pigging of N-S, R-A and A-B Pipeline must be carried out on Top Priority Basis. Otherwise Gas System low pressure situation can not be overcome.<br />
•	Authentic audit can be carried out by parliamentary committee about Performance of all IOCs and management of PSC by Petrobangla. Inactions in exploration of Petroleum and Mineral resource are the main reasons for the present massive energy crisis.</p>
<p><strong>Mid Term</strong><br />
•	GTCL Compressor Station Project of Ashuganj and Elenga must be expedited.<br />
•	Coal mining at Phulbari immediately by Surface mining method and Barapukuria by same method after 2011 must be planned without delay.<br />
•	At least two 500MW each Coal Fired Power plants must be set up in Min Mouth in Phulbari Area</p>
<p><strong>Long Term</strong><br />
•	Khalaspeer and Dighipara must be explored under PPP.<br />
•	Prospect of CBM from Jamalgonj must be explored.<br />
•	Cairn-Santos must be given proper incentives to successfully carry out exploration at Magnama and Hatiya.<br />
•	PSC with Conoco Philips and Tullow must be signed without delay.<br />
•	Next bidding round from remaining offshore Blocks and onshore blocks must be initiated.<br />
•	Actions for LNG import facility set up must be initiated so that by 2-15 we are in a position to switch to LNG after adjusting our energy price in several small steps.</p>
<p>In the ensuing irrigation season and following summer, citizens will suffer. There is nothing government can do other than rolling some heads which continuously misguided policy makers.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Written by <strong>Kh. A. Saleque (Saleque Sufi)</strong> is the ex-Director (Operation) GTCL and writes from Australia.</p>
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		<title>The Saga of Benglish</title>
		<link>http://www.e-bangladesh.org/2010/02/20/the-saga-of-benglish/</link>
		<comments>http://www.e-bangladesh.org/2010/02/20/the-saga-of-benglish/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Feb 2010 12:03:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Maskwaith Ahsan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog Views]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Maskwaith Ahsan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[21st February]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bangla]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bangla Language Movement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bengali Language Movement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[language movement day]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shaheed Dibos]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.e-bangladesh.org/?p=2306</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In most interactions with Kolkata journalists, writers and artists, I have found them to praise Dhaka as the beholder of Bangla language. Going over my signature in Bangla, even a hotel manager in Kolkata tearfully exclaimed: “You Bangladeshis have truly sustained the honor of this language.” And then a senior journalist in the same city [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" src="http://www.e-bangladesh.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/21.jpg" alt="" width="302" height="202" />In most interactions with Kolkata journalists, writers and artists, I have found them to praise Dhaka as the beholder of Bangla language. Going over my signature in Bangla, even a hotel manager in Kolkata tearfully exclaimed: “You Bangladeshis have truly sustained the honor of this language.” And then a senior journalist in the same city vented his disappointment at the current state of Bangla language in Kolkata, on how rich non-Bengalis have taken over the neo-affluent areas in Kolkata and how they have even colonized Rabi Thakur’s (Rabindranath Tagore) Shanti Niketon by building villas near this renowned centre of excellence in Bangla language and culture.</p>
<p>It was our achievement through the language movement of 1952 that inspired the Bangla speaking regions of India to organize demands for the state recognition of this language. The 21st of February is now marked as the International Mother Language Day; a day that reminds the world the importance of restoring the rights of languages that are endangered by cultural glo-colonization. Due to those efforts, Bangla is now the fourth largest spoken language in the world.</p>
<p>Bengalis are so passionate about their language that it is a common sight at international forums to see two random Bengalis, completely oblivious of their surroundings, starting a conversation in Bangla. Likewise, I have found expatriate Bengali parents desperate to pass on their language and associated culture to their kids who are being raised in an otherwise non-Bangla atmosphere. Bengalis, whether living in the Middle East, Europe or America, passionately observe Pohela Baishakh, the Bangla New Year and 21st February. Recently, Bangla blogs and online outlets have also taken to strengthening the grandeur of the language. Non-Resident Bengalis make sure to plan their visits home to coincide with Ekushe Book Fair, the biggest event that celebrates Bangla Language.</p>
<p>What this amounts to is that we have all the reasons to be happy about the continuity of our language, especially when compared to our Bengali friends in Kolkata who feel victimized by non-Bangla aggression. But something went wrong in Dhaka as well.</p>
<p>On the first day of the Ekushe Book Fair in February 2008, my colleagues and I were working at a mobile newsroom set up at the fairgrounds. It became painful after a while of tolerating the music being played in neighboring FM radio stalls. Senior sub-editors even refused to work with us, being ‘disgusted’ by the noise and language pollution emanating from those surroundings. The situation became more uncouth when two radio jockeys appeared on the scene mimicking the starry smiles of Shahrukh Khan and Karina Kapoor. Stationing themselves at a strategic corner nearby, they started their monologue addressed to a gathering young crowd. This grandstanding spoiled the entire artistic ambience of our Little Magazine corner.</p>
<p>We did try to listen to their lecture but miserably failed to understand the language: English superimposed on Bangla and mixed with some sounds unknown to our ears. Every sentence comprised of distorted Bangla words and wrongly used English expressions hyphenated with sounds of unhuman-like laughter. Feeling the misery and rage of our   mobile newsroom colleagues, I had to humbly request the FM radio stall to cut short the starbiz event. To be fair to them, they complied. But it dawned on me that this newly acquired Benglish language has managed to earn popularity.</p>
<p>Here, I would rather not deviate into the definition of pop-culture. Suffice to say, if there is a monkey show near a kindergarten, children will naturally rush to see it. But if that show goes on forever most children will not go back to their classrooms, because by that time the monkey will have become more popular than their teachers. In the same fashion when Bangla movies like Beder Meye Jotsna (The Voluptuous Gypsy Daughter) snatched the box office, viewers refused to go back to Jibon Theke Neya, Jahir Raihan’s trendsetting film. When cheap adaptations of Moliere’s comedies started hitting the theatre hub at Dhaka’s Baily Road, people became unwilling to return to Bangla theatre works of legends like Selim Al-Deen. Once youngsters started giving their hearts to aimless band music concerts, they forgot our legends like Kalim Sharafi or Farida Parveen. When obscene dances destroy our traditional folk theatre ‘Jatra’ and when popularity becomes the yardstick of everything, it isn’t far when Benglish as a sub-language and culture will claim its power share.</p>
<p>It started with students studying in English-medium schools talking amongst themselves in this distorted medium. Their parents, knowing little and believing that only the slaughter of Bangla was the way out for their kids to prosper, gladly accepted the birth of Benglish. For sometime thence Benglish remained confined to the neo-elites of Dhaka, and then as the speakers of this sub-language gradually succeeded in making inroads into other strata of society with their superficial smartness and fashion-based glamour, Benglish became trendy. In today’s world anything ‘modern’ goes. So did Benglish.</p>
<p>It was picked up, more recently, by several FM radio channels which are popularizing it via their jockeys. The irony or comedy (whichever way you take it) is that the majority of these radio jockeys don’t have an English-based education, neither were they raised or born abroad. So competition and lack of common sense compels them to memorize a few American sitcom words, at times even entire expressions, just so they can throw these in between their on-air ramblings in Bangla. The result: not only are both Bangla and English delivered in distorted accents, their disjointed sentences mostly make no sense.</p>
<p>Perhaps, if our language movement martyrs knew they were shedding their blood in vain, they would have, at least, thought twice about sacrificing their lives. Little did they know that one day Benglish would outsmart Bangla.</p>
<p>In February 2009, while training a batch of journalism students of private universities of Dhaka, I was, again, rudely awakened when they proudly told me that they couldn’t write reports in Bangla as English was their language of learning. OK, fine. But when I went through their English transcripts I was further shocked by their bad and wrong English. I had no choice but to take refuge in Rabindranath Thakur’s wisdom: Alas, in a futile attempt to learn English, you missed to learn Bangla as well.</p>
<p>It can be nothing but a twist of our own making that out of colonial fear we failed to teach English in Bangla-medium schools and out of colonial hangover failed to teach Bangla in English-medium schools.</p>
<p>One doesn’t need to be a linguist or rocket scientist to understand that without having command on mother tongue, no one can truly anchor into some other language. Benglish is nothing but a tragic outcome of this reality.</p>
<p><strong>Photo: </strong><em><span class="bodyText">People from all walks of life paid homage to the Language Martyrs by placing flowers and garlands at the Central Shahid Minar, the monument built in remembrance of the young men who were killed in 1952 when police opened fire on a students’ protest demonstration at the Dhaka University Campus demanding Bangla as the state language from the then East Pakistan government. In 1999 UNESCO declared the day as the &#8220;International Mother Language Day”. Dhaka, Bangladesh. February 21 2009</span>.<span class="bold_text">by: Shafiqul Islam Kajol,DrikNEWS.</span></em></p>
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<td width="393" align="left" valign="top"><span class="bodyText">People from all walks of life paid homage to the Language Martyrs by placing flowers and garlands at the Central Shahid Minar, the monument built in remembrance of the young men who were killed in 1952 when police opened fire on a students’ protest demonstration at the Dhaka University Campus demanding Bangla as the state language from the then East Pakistan government. In 1999 UNESCO declared the day as the &#8220;International Mother Language Day”. Dhaka, Bangladesh. February 21 2009</span></p>
<p><span class="bold_text">by: Shafiqul Islam Kajol</span></td>
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		<title>The repeal of the Fifth Amendment : Musings</title>
		<link>http://www.e-bangladesh.org/2010/02/18/the-repeal-of-the-fifth-amendment-musings/</link>
		<comments>http://www.e-bangladesh.org/2010/02/18/the-repeal-of-the-fifth-amendment-musings/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:04:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rasel Pervez</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog Views]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rasel Pervez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Special Report]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bangladesh constitution]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Was it necessary? &#8211; was my first reaction after hearing this news. Awami League-led government has decided to change the name of Zia International Airport to Hazrat Shah Jalal[ R:] International  Airport.
Sad but true, this cabinet meeting was headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Her press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told reporters, “According to [...]]]></description>
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