String of disasters in china caused by floods and mudslides killed thousands and displaced many. The recent mudslides have leveled an area and raised death toll. China’s proud of becoming the nearest economic power to US is dismayed by these disasters one after the another. Cyclones devastated Bangladesh for many centuries and the latest ones are Sidr and Aila. Floods destroy crops and livestock on a yearly basis in this nation. Many around the world perceive that this nation remains under water.

Aid effort is slow in the context of Pakistan. Non government agencies working round the clock with their limited capacities. While governments of developing countries are seemingly accused for their inefficacy to handle tragedies, existentialism boost humanity to revive as it happened in the post Tsunami’s communities in the Asia-Pacific. Political leaders often appeared alike celebrities delivering relief to the distressed people and having snap shots in the media. Mainstream media apparently broadcast tragedy with enormous enthusiasm. However, people survive, grow and revive in the face of difficulties. This is the spirit of humanity that overcomes trauma of losing livestock as well as relatives and repeatedly ‘pushing the boulder up the mountain’.

Nature’s fury is observed from Pakistan to China leaving thousands to mourn for their loved ones. Scientists are searching for causes of such a monster flood and they mostly blame ‘climate change’ in line with IPCC’s hypothesis. IPCC has tons of scientific materials along with lots of graphs and tables to explain changing climate and the future of the planet. Other group has claimed some sort of cyclical process of earth changes through couple of thousands of years. Whatever the hypothesis is, human miseries out of these apocalyptic disasters are quite visible in the recent days.

Policy thinkers tirelessly developed mitigation and adaptation strategies besides organizing conferences. Cop 15’s climate change accord is one of the outcomes of international community’s effort to hold governments accountable. National plan of actions are out there in the hand governments containing nice words as well as lots of commitments and strategies to protect citizens from adversities of such disasters. Multilateral and bilateral donor agencies are quite busy to negotiate with governments of developing countries on how to accumulate  and spend fund as well. Rights based organizations are busy how to hold these governments accountable and transparent to be little kind with their citizens.

Natural disaster is no more a national concern. The scale of catastrophe disturbs global conscience. Volcanic eruptions, frequent earth trembles, heavy monsoon, floods and super cyclones have hit nations indiscriminately for last couple of years. Some may worry that none of the strategies, policy measures and fundings could be much worthy if nature demonstrates such a havoc. People, governments and markets are racing against time to air the bubbles of economy. Making money is the indicator of progress and prosperity in the chase pool of modernity. Thus, reduction of carbon emission appears to be an issue that governments do not like to think or talk much. Adaptation is a humanitarian talk in the down town. Climate change undergoes academic rigour and investigation. Time is ticking, wider scale apocalyptic disasters are causing more and more casualties, which gradually threats the very existence of human species.

Pakistan Burning in Water

In Rio de Janeiro things are looking better as the world famous Maracanã-Stadium is undergoing refurbishment since Wednesday, August 25; but even this project is behind schedule as originally work was planned to start in March 2010. Until late 2012 around 300 Million Euros will be spend on the arena to bring it up to World Cup standard as in its current form it is outdated and wouldn’t qualify as a World Cup venue. And besides the World Cup, Rio is also set to host the 2016 Olympics for which the stadium would also be needed.

The Maracanã in its full name is called the Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho and it is one of the iconic venues of world football. Legendary stories are told about the 1950 World Cup final in the stadium between hosts Brazil and then giants Uruguay. It is said that over 200,000 people where live at the ground to watch the final. It used to be the biggest stadium in the world, but development work over the years have reduced the capacity to now 88,000. The last time the stadium was redeveloped was in 2007 ahead of the Pan American Games.

Now for the 2014 FIFA World Cup the capacity will come down further to around 83,000 as tough FIFA guidelines are enforcing less capacity at the ground plus better facilities for players, media, VIPs and the general public. Still the outside of the stadium will remain the same as it is a Brazilian national monument, but besides improvement inside the ground it will also get a new modern roof. Currently the Maracanã is the home venue of local Rio giants Flamengo and Fluminense plus also hosting to matches of the Brazilian Selecao.

Road to Maracanã-Stadium

Woman in subjugation

Religious practices devoid of humanity and common sense can never be anything more than mere rituals enforced to control the behavior of a community. Such rituals have historically used symbols to help resonate their identity. The burqa/headscarf controversy that has been picked up as the frontline feature in the conflict between east and west has already started to prove its destructive strength: of how even the saner of men can be emotionally charged through religion to destroy the peace of a society.

In yet another dark age, the ruling of the Bangladesh High Court that people cannot be forced to wear veils, skull caps or other religious clothing in workplaces, schools and colleges, is indeed a welcome second step. The first was the Supreme Court’s verdict last month banning religion in politics. The latest court order came after females without veil (burqa) were reportedly barred from entering their college. The incident came as a mild surprise to me, not because it was the first of its kind but because it came on the heels of the recent anti-headscarf wave in Western Europe. While the emotions and actions regarding veil/headscarf in the east and west might be poles apart, the underlying psyche is the same: self-preservation. It has nothing to do with feminism, women rights, honor or even religion.

Let me explain. Birth rate among Europeans is going sharply downhill and there’s nothing they have been able to do about it yet. Simultaneously, the Asian minorities living in Europe seem to have no other occupation than to populate the continent and make up for the declining number of inhabitants. During my work stint in Europe the one thing that came across quite clearly regarding this equation was the growing sense of fear amongst general Europeans that they might, in the coming decades, become a minority in their own land. Hence, the over-emphasis on social integration, and the political pressure to reduce the number of immigrant-seekers. Their fear of being taken over by Muslims is historically so ingrained that it’s logically impossible for them to live with the idea that there could ever be an Israel-Palestinians like situation, and that too on the basis of the very ideals of democracy they uphold so much. So, the backlash against the veil and headscarf in Europe is their symbolic way of protecting their identity.

In Pakistan and Bangladesh, on the other hand, it is a matter of preserving patriarchal control through whatever means necessary. That’s why most religious, political and social discussions in this region converge on the question of the suitability of women’s attire. Atleast to my mind it reeks of the witch hunt of the dark ages when the Vatican blemished its history with the blood of women whose only crime was that they had the courage to question authority. The Muslim world today carries all the indicators of that dark era. Even the question of attire is one-sided. No one ever asks why it is alright for men to go shirtless and bare half their bodies when women are forced to cover their heads or faces. It makes no sense, especially when the face is among the most un-provoking parts of female anatomy. This entire women-honor-can-be-protected-through-hijab debate is invariably carried out on grounds of religion but never common sense.

No one willingly gives up power, and to assume that patriarchy will give way to neutrality without a fight is simply naïve. When over 50 percent of the population of Muslim countries comprises of women, the men-folk are in a desperate bid to hold on to their dominance; either through the tribal-feudal system or through religion-politics. It’s their perceived fear of being side-lined. That’s why domestic violence has a direct co-relation with low male self-esteem. Wars and conflicts bear testament that the most effective way to insult a man is by dishonoring his woman. The Muslim men of today cannot get rid of this genetic response overnight. So, it falls on the women to raise and train their sons for a dignified future.

The whole controversy about the Ground Zero Mosque is pretty interesting to me. This story has many angles  and I think people are just picking the side that suits them. Those who don’t know what’s going on here’s a summery- in lower Manhattan area just two blocks away from the location of the Twin Tower an Imam named Feisal Abdul Rauf, wanted to build a thirteen storied Islamic Cultural Center. Many saw it as a right to practice religion and many looked at it as an insult to injury. The poor Imam is clueless and I believe is really helpless at this point. The mayor of New York came out passionately in favor of the Islamic center, so did the idealist centrists and the left. But the right wing found it as a reason to ignite their base by saying, a 13 storied building so close to Ground Zero is a “triumph for the terrorists.” Even the president came in favor of the mosque as an idealist himself, but then did a bit of a topsi-terby juggling about the “judgement of the location”.

Well let’s look at the main character of this story. The Imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf is a Columbia graduate in physics, who’s father was a senior Egyptian cleric. This person is now the symbol of Islamic faith in US. He’s portrayed as a “radical” cleric by the right wing media. But just a few months back the scenario was the opposite. The Imam was known as an agent of America in his Middle East speech programs, some of the programs where funded by the State Department. The poor guy was blamed to be a Western sympathizer for constantly denouncing the extremist ideologies of Middle East, in plain word the terrorist activities. His second and current Persian wife Daisy Khan left Iran for the extreme views of the Islamic Government. He was the kind of Islamic leader the right wing fantasized all the time. A man who believes in co-existence of religions, who believe interfaith dialog is the key to gain permanent solution for all conflicts. He points out that, Shariah Law in principle is sometimes implemented by Westerners more frequently then in the Middle East. His visit to the far east Asian Muslim countries especially Malaysia, gave him understanding of ethnic harmony over religion. A Sufi by practice, he wasn’t very much welcomed by the Wahabi practitioners. I guess, he would’ve never thought the he’ll be the shield that same Muslims will use and the right wing will use him as a placard of extremism. Poor soul! What he forgot is religion is not all spiritual, it’s also good business. But that discussion for another day.

Why such a controversy over an Islamic Center? Did the so-called free Willy practitioners of Islam in US ever ask themselves? Now they are taking shelter behind the liberal left but, how many of these mosques actually work into incorporating the Muslim community to the mainstream culture? Time is a very crucial factor and we had been ignoring it in this debate. In a pre 9/11 world this wouldn’t have been an issue. In a booming economy with more than 5000 alive teenage soldiers, most would’ve been pointing out how lower Manhattan used to be known as Little Syria. But we live in a world where ideological lines are drawn in the name of religion once again. On the main street, in a recessionary time, people will take their frustration out on anything and everything. This is natural. To middle America, which is still the majority of the country- there’s no difference between a Shia, Sunni, Ahmedia, Sufi. They know one thing- these are all Muslims who attacked with planes on 9/11 almost ten years ago. Who tried to do the same again in Time Square few months back, who attacked on a military base inside the US, who keep their prayer halls away from everyone else. What happens in a mosque is known to most by movies and documentaries just like the rest of the world thinks US is what they see in Hollywood movies.

In a time when 1 out of 5 think the President is a Muslim and he has to come and defend that he’s a practicing Christian, instead of asking the question,” wait a minute,what is wrong in being a Muslims?”;the Muslim community also should trade their trade a bit carefully. Majority of Muslims in US would tell you that they don’t care what happens in Palestine or Iraq, they are working hard to have a better life for their families but it does effect our lives, doesn’t it? It’s also our duty to realize the circumstances and work accordingly. Obviously, there’s no problem in practicing religion. But you also have to make sure that the main stream understands what you are practicing. Instead of convincing yourself of others faults, it’s also time we look at our owns once in a while. A religious minority specially Muslim community is very tricky to identify in USA. We have African American Muslims here who have a history since the slavery. Muslims from Ottoman empire came here at the beginning of 1900s. Asian Muslims started to migrate for last 60-70 years. They all have only one part of their culture in common- their  religious background. It’s very important mainstream Americans also understand the fact that 8 million Muslims in US are not all from one part of the world.

I’m a firm believe that nationalism triumphs over anything. It’s true for Bangladesh, and it’s true for United States or France or England. When I think of a French, I don’t see someone in full Burkha, sorry to say. I know neither does a French. When I imagine schools in Bangladesh, I don’t think of classroom where I can identify someone by their religious attire. Same goes for most Americans. When they see someone from another part of the world, who speaks an alien language in their neighborhood, they also want to find the common grounds, to reason in their mind on why and how can they welcome this person. Remember we came to this country, so when in Rome, you must act a little bit like the Romans. How you take part in the mainstream community makes a huge difference.

I think this is where the Muslims in the West failed and the rise of extremist ideology didn’t help either. It’s easy to identify a practicing religious person,  let it be a Christian, Jew or Muslim. It’s another thing to be isolated for that; and a totally different issue to be self-isolated. It’s important that ethnic minority communities don’t become a self isolated community in a multicultural country. But for many Americans, that’s how they perceive many minority community people. If all of a sudden they think the same for a religious minority i.e. Muslims, it’s also a question we need to ask ourselves, why and how can we change that.

The rise of right wing Christian ideologies in main stream politics, all over the West, needs to be analyzed with a different approach. I don’t believe all of them are anti-Islamics. If that was the case, then why did they tolerate Muslims in their countries for so long? We also need to see, where did we fail. Again, even though I don’t like to incorporate myself with a religious community, I still say we-because as I have said many times before, your name carries more power then a lifetime of work. Problem is, we are in a state of denial. We are ready to blame everyone else and keep a blind eye on our failure. Our main question shouldn’t be who’s against us, but are we against everyone else who doesn’t sound like me? In the book “Clash of Civilizations” Sam Huntington said religious identity would be the source of conflict in a post Cold War era. I think even he didn’t realize, the conflict would be also in an intra-religion basis. Shia-Sunnie, Kadiani, Ahmedia, Sufies, Wahabies.

Islamopho

Is this crowd for you? It's also your duty to find the answer.

bia is spreading in different forms in different countries. It’s real in one form in the West and in another form in Bangladesh, Algeria, Pakistan and Indonesia. The West needs to understand that by generalizing all Muslims they are isolating a huge number of liberals, who are more inclined to their ethnic identity then religious. If this quarantined trend continues some of them will naturally look for refuge in the extremist camp. But I think, the mainstream Western media and communities have been more accommodating then the other way round. It’s time also Muslims look at themselves and separate the extremist fractions out of their lives. I think then Mr. Rauf can have a world that looks a bit like Cordoba (Do your own research what the name means!)

Mr Mahmudur Rahman, as a columnist, was ok so far the concept of freedom of expression goes. But as an Editor I think he was too unqualified to be so. Because as media is considered as the fourth column of a state, it imposes greater responsibilities on one’s shoulder. Therefore, as a columnist when you prefer writing trash or rubbish it has little significance but as an Editor of a national daily you cannot enjoy that much freedom, because you are bound by some laws, principles and conventions.

I followed almost every issue of the Daily Amar Desh (on internet) during his editorship. To me it was of utter frustrating when I saw him taking side of militants on a several occasion (when almost every paper reported any arrest of militants, his one tried to cast a doubt on it by creating confusion that the innocents were being harassed because they were muslims), taking side of the killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (when the final judgement came out and the killers were hanged, he deliberately published news by justifying the killing of Sheikh Mujib hence, to me, took side of the killers), supported fundamentalists and militants, and tried to inflict division within society based on religious belief, also spread absurd xenophobia (with his trade-mark India-phobia) among certain quarters. Now is the question, how much you should allow to an Editor? What is the bottom line for an editor? How much he can go? Another dubious news was the Banner Headline of the corruption allegation against the Prime Minister’s son and the Energy Advisor without reliable sources which went totally against the spirit of independent news media (you cannot simply put your banner headline implicating the Prime Minister based on unknown (inexistent) sources). That is something outrageous. Even in the first world, you cannot do this rubbish. I am not saying that PM or her son cannot resort to corruption. If you have reliable information (even with a slightest degree), I would say you may go with it. But publishing news with such a magnanimity without having any sort of reliable sources which can be verified independently, shouldn’t have a free pass at all. Regarding the contempt of court, based on which he has been jailed, same goes here. I saw him generalising everything from a narrow angle and perspective. Read the headline: “Chembar Judge manei sarkar pokkhe stay” and “Shadhin bichar bivager name tamasha”. Read carefully both of the headline. First one renders that whatever cases put before the ChamberJudge, it means stay (on the part of the govt.). It was totally stupid. If you sample the Chamber Judge’s decision during the last one year you ratio would not cross 50% I bet. Another headline was self-explanatory that what he wrote was from his own narrow point of view and with too generalized way. If an editor hasn’t have this little common sense, how can he term him an editor? He has little common sense. And with this little he wants to be a big! Both the headlines are too generalised. I can give you hundreds of such examples. But it is of no use to prove an ‘idiot’ a further idiot.

I think we all have to understand that freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom of nonsense. Your freedom ends where my freedom begins. This is the simple math for freedom of expression. Journalists used to sermon Executive, Legislature and Judiciary about their misuse of power, corruption, and misrule. But in Bangladesh you cannot imagine to what extent journalists resort to corruption and how rampantly they misuse their noble power. I had a chance to visit most of the countryside of Bangladesh and talk to local civil society people (during one of our research works). Astonishingly, we had a view (from our random sampling) that more than 90% of local journalists are corrupt and are associates of criminals and goons. Most of the electronic and print media journalists do not receive any remuneration (or if they do, very meager) from their appointing authority. When we talked to them they asserted that their authority told them to utilize their ID Cards (that was all what those authority gave to them) (you know what it means). Only a few (very few) pay their correspondences regularly and adequately.

I am giving this scenario to let you know that Journalists are not considered as saints or event good fellows to follow at the local level. So the myth will not work here.

I cannot support arresting or harassing a person for expressing his opinion. But one should not also be allowed to do/speak whatever he wants to which in turns infringe others’ rights as well, thus he cannot escape liability of spreading hatred among people (sometimes by telling lies) and creating danger for the greater mass. To protect the society, Law has its inbuilt ‘Incapacitation’ measure in its armory which acts as a ‘Deterrence’ against the evils acts (including intentions and thoughts) of any particular person ..

According to sources, nearly one-half of the global population – 3 billion people – live on less than $2 a day, and one fifth of the world population – 1.5 billion people – live in extreme poverty on less than $1 a day. During the past twenty-five years, electricity supplies have been extended to 1.3 billion people living in developing countries. Yet despite these advances, roughly 1.6 billion people, which is one quarter of the global population, still have no access to electricity and some 2.4 billion people rely on traditional biomass, including wood, agricultural residues and dung, for cooking and heating. More than 99 percent of people without electricity live in developing regions, and four out of five live in rural areas of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. (The Baker Institute Energy Forum)

Energy and poverty links to each other passionately. There is no energy means there is no choice at all. Thus, there is no scope for capability to flourish as well. A trend is observed during last decade that millions of rural population migrated urban cities for livelihoods. Thus, ‘rural poverty’ transformed into ‘urban poverty’ and rural families become slum dwellers. In a country like Bangladesh where a population size of 5 to 10 million is ideal with respect to its size and resources; cities are overloaded by rural migrants desperately seeking ways out for livelihood. Hundreds and thousands of skilled and unskilled people are fighting disgracefully over limited resources. Corruption and crimes are the inevitable outcome of disgraceful fight among millions in the unjust societies without boarders. And the context is same for all developing nations with high density population and lack of resources along with manipulating weak-malnutrition governance.

Little innovations and alternative thinking for renewable energies are not that profound in these miserable nations in the world except some discrete private initiatives. Partly because they do not have much technical know how on alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal and whatever. On the other hand, their basic instinct for corruption is much favorable to deal with dirty energies such as oil, gas, coal, and so on. Billionaire transnational energy corporations just spray cheese at their temptation.

Mass people always appeared as some kind of scape goats or stupid slaves for the greedy rulers in the human history elsewhere in the world. The dream for right to livelihood, freedom, and capability remains as dream and turns into wishful thinking of philanthropists as well as good doers. Poor in the poor nations just work to exist for breads and taxpayers in the rich nations pay tax for the recovery of institutions out of bubbles burst. These negative reality has apparently become justified reality in the capital chase pool of monkeys raced by neo-liberal globalization.

Human rights based approach advocates for right to work, adequate house, education, health, and so on for minimum quality life, which could create enabling atmosphere to flourish capability and eventually bring freedom. While poor governments either consciously or subconsciously and persistently are unable to reach the desired level to offer her citizens with such freedom, energy poverty just adds more and more excuses to feel sorry for them or to prove their sustainable incapability.

The conventional energy is depleting like ‘splash of ash’ in the sky, nuclear energy is becoming dangerous to meet lust for power, alternative energies are in its infancy, which later giving rise of energy poverty besides widening gap between have and have not. Under such a reckless phase of time and space how longer we will be able to live with shattered dreams of right to livelihood, freedom and capability? The question haunts the daunting mind.

The heart of darkness

Ramadan started. My Facebook news feed was bombarded with Ramadan wishes. My wife told me people are asking for Surahs from Quran as ringtones in Bangladesh. Fast and feast is having their own hypocritical competition and festivity and fundamentalism is having a blast at this point, that I’m pretty much sure. All these are our so-called middle class “Bhodro loks” who are turning into part time spirituals. I said this to a friend and bluntly that friend told me, “It’s more of a cultural thing, you shouldn’t look at it in a bad way”. My point is exactly, this semi hypocritical religious fanaticism IS a cultural thing, and soon we will pay the price. Very soon, trust me.

Some days ago, I was reading a blog of a friend who wrote something about Madrasas. I gave it a little thought and tried to reason the arguments within myself. I didn’t go for statistics or opinions, only what I have seen and understood, so this is a personal opinion. I might have got the entire thing wrong. If I did, please correct my misconception.

In Bangladesh, I was stunned to find that there are around 64000 Madrassas in Bangladesh and that’s an estimate of 2002 as per Bangladesh Observer. Let’s say for the sake of argument in last 8 years there weren’t a single new Madrassa in Bangladesh. If there are around 50 students in these places that means 3,200,000 students in these places! Who are these students? These are not your or my cousins, nor our friends, nor children of our co-workers. They might be the children of our maid, relatives from village or our favorite, orphans. As soon as one of us realize that we have successfully become a “Shaheb”, we decide to do something for the “greater good” and also to have some blessings from all mighty. And what can be better than making a Madrassa in a village, where they have no school, and never will have one. “Gorib manush er chelepuley, at least bhalo manush hobey”. We feel an orgasmic satisfaction. So we build one, have a bed and breakfast for life system for these kids and leave them to a Kari Fazil expert. From dawn to dask they start reading only one book and their entire intellectual upbringing is on that Kari Fazil expert. Day passes and these kids become teenager and start realizing one truth. The “Shaheb” didn’t send his kids to study with him, they are somewhere preparing for SAT. They have a very well defined social status. “huzur” is the only job they were prepared for and “huzur” is the only thing they can be. In a country which likes to showoff it’s secular cultural side, brushes these kids to a borderline of the social circle. The only time they are welcomed in “Shaheb’s house” is for “Quran Khotom” if someone dies, or on the day of Kurbani. Trade of death is what they are needed for and trading death is what they learn. Now the day passes to years, and the “Huzurs” get out in the wilderness looking a mosque where they can become get a work. As the harsh truth of demand and supply, many of these Huzurs don’t get work even in Madrassas and mosques. Some of them making a living in attending Chillahs as I heard from a Madrassa graduate. Interesting life isn’t it? We have created specialists with no specific job. So what do you think they see when they look at us?

Let me tell you. They see they have nothing to offer to the rest of the world. We’ll never seat with them on the same table to have a conversation, frankly speaking there’s nothing to talk. They have no future, no past and no present. Some feel cheated, some blame their fate and some just feel a vacuum. And in comes our Robin Hoods, saviors of the religion. They feel that vacuum, give them a purpose and give them a platform. “Take what is rightfully ours” was the words of the crusaders and we hear “Amra hobo Taleban, Bangla hobey Afgan”. These are the children of Bangali Muslim Bhodrolok’s orgasmic satisfaction.

We can have education board to update and upgrade the Madrassa curriculum and we can have quotas in Government job for them. But do you really think the problem is in professional incorporation of Madrassa graduates? It’s the social class system we have created for Huzurs. We make them Harijangs when they are kids and we make them spiritual guides when they are old. The youth of these kids are filled with misguidance, mistrust and misuse by every part of the society.

Do you see someone from your family here?

So for all the devoted religious people, just think about it before you decide to build another Huzur Factory, is it really that important? Before you give your two cents to them, think what else can you do for them. I would love to see these bed and breakfast hate breweries turned into places where not only someone with white long beard is telling them what is right and wrong. Where someone like you and me are also going and teaching them about the life before the after life.

But where are the problems? If one looks at the media reports there are to many to mention. Allegations of corruption, venues aren’t ready yet while some are already crumbling under monsoon rains plus officials and politicians fighting each other over who should get the credit for things going well or who should be blamed for failure and mismanagement. And to top it all there is former sports minister Mani Shankar Aiyar who is wishing the worst for the games so that the inabilities of certain sports administrators are exposed. That wouldn’t be the worst only if India’s interest weren’t harmed in the process. This all sounds like a real life soap opera. And a really bad one.

The question I ask myself is India ready to host such an international mega-sporting event? I have been of the opinion, we will have problems but will manage to get everything in place in the last minute, but the closer the Commonwealth are getting the more doubts I now have. And I don’t seem to be alone with my doubts as yesterday’s statements from Baichung Bhutia show.

Baichung said in Kolkata, “We should not have taken a decision to host the Games. The infrastructure is not ready. Look at the situation, the grounds are not ready. Even in hockey, there are not many turfs in India. Even a nation like Malaysia is better-placed to host the Games. We should not have bid for the Games.”

Harsh words from Baichung but he is known to speak his mind on pressing issues and not to take a diplomatic view just to please others. And in my opinion his views are spot on!
Instead of hosting the Commonwealth Games now, maybe hosting it in four or eight years would have been better. The funds would have been better utilised to create infrastructure now for youngsters to train and increase the participation in sports. That is India’s biggest drawbacks besides qualified coaching and a system for overall sports development, irrespective of sporting discipline. And we also need young, dynamic people to come in and run sporting bodies to bring with them fresh, new ideas and not age old methods which don’t seen to take us anywhere.

But still I hope the Commonwealth Games will be a success, but thereafter an overall clean-up needs to happen. Especially the media needs to ask for accountability and those found guilty for offences need to be pushed. But for now India and I mean the whole of India needs to focus on making the Games a success or otherwise our reputation will take a massive hit.

Commonwealth Games

Coalminer's son

“What you said in April you are repeating in August. Where is the progress?” asked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her fourth meeting with power and energy sector officials since assuming office. She incidentally is also in charge of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources. While it’s true that her government inherited a crisis-struck power and energy sector, the situation has, nevertheless, barely improved in the 20 months of her government’s 60 month tenure.

Prime Minister Hasina has repeatedly expressed her concern about the continued abysmal performance of the sector, insisting that required projects be expedited and that people must not be made to suffer any more.

Her government started its tenure with a massive pledge to balance out demand and supply in the energy sector. A US-educated, controversial bureaucrat was preferred over senior party politicians to look after this vital as advisor, senior management was replaced by party-favored professionals, and mega projects were thrown away in the wake of an emerging energy crisis. Realizing the depth and diversity of the crisis, the people of Bangladesh initially sympathized with the government.

The caretaker administration had signed contracts for a few contingency power plants, some of which came into operation. But the Awami League government has in the 20 months of its rule failed to initial any contract for the establishment of new power plants. The government claims that it has added 800 megawatts of power to the national grid since taking office. If it’s true then where has that power gone? In 2009, national generation was 3800 megawatts while the present output is barely above it. It appears that old, retired power plants have neutralized any new electricity generation.

Moreover, gas crisis in the country has rendered around 800 MW unutilized, while another 800 MW of power generation remains out of use because of overhauling. Based on these calculations, the electricity demand of 6,000 MW faces a deficit of about 2,000 MW, making it the most severe crisis in the history of Bangladesh.

Despite such a bleak reality, our policy makers in the power and energy sector continue to claim that Bangladesh will be load-shedding free by 2012. It is quite logical to assume that a management which in 20 months failed to show any significant progress cannot do so in 20 years. PM Hasina is unnecessarily persisting with this failed management. Why is she not taking advice from serious experts? What happened to coal mining and offshore gas exploration?

The only notable action by this government is the signing of several contracts for importing liquid fuel. Some of these are on track but most have already fallen behind schedule. These expensive plants cannot be relied on for much longer. Bangladesh can ill afford to pay huge subsidies indefinitely. Even if a contract for setting up a major base-load power plant is signed today, financial closure by developers alone will take 6 to 9 months. That means such a plant may not come into operation within the remaining period of the present government, leaving the power sector virtually captive to contingency plants.

This government signed an agreement with India for grid connectivity and power import, but the tariff has not been decided yet. Even if things progress on war-footing 250 MW of power will enter the national grid by 2013. By then the shortfall is likely to go beyond the present 2,000 MW. Imported power will meet only a minor percentage of the deficit.

There is a plan to set up two large coal-fired plants in Khulna and Chittagong. Talks between NTPC India and PDB Bangladesh have come to a stalemate. India wants absolute control of the management and operation of the power plants, but can a sovereign Bangladesh allow any foreign government-owned entity to have that? Moreover from techno-economic point of view, power plants based on imported coal are never a feasible option for several reasons like lack of an enabling infrastructure for coal import, costs and poor domestic power tariff. So power plants run on imported coal are an unrealistic venture.

The government is equally unrealistic in its plan to import LNG. It will require huge investment and significant time as well as a very strong management to make the LNG dream come true. The target of 2012 is also an impossible deadline. At least two years will be required to construct sub-pipelines. Along with floating LNG terminals, offshore pipelines and high cost of importing LNG it will be impossible to realize this dream in just 28 months. But unfortunately the government still believes in fairly tales.

The most comical aspect of our energy policy came up during the last meeting when the gas sector management talked about 2,400 MMCFD additional gas productions by 2015. In 20 months we have only had some additional gas from Chevron-operated Bibiyana gas field. The present government can take no credit for it: this gas field development started during the tenure of four-party alliance and was completed at the time of the caretaker government. In fact the present government’s failure to select Pipeline Compressor Stations so far has impeded the utilization of stranded gas in Sylhet. The government also entered into controversy by permitting Chevron to build a mid-stream pipeline compressor station at Muchai Rashidpur. In Titas and Habiganj gas fields, workovers have only managed to restore earlier production capacity.  Gas production in Beanibazar, Rashidpur and Shangu has already been run out of steam. The government also has failed to carry out routine maintenance of transmission pipelines, while attempts to utilize additional gas through capacity saturated pipelines have triggered low pressure in the system. Shameless, Petrobangla continues to talk big.

Re-exploration in Sreekail and development of Semutang remains to be done. Workover in Meghna and development of Salda may provide us with some additional gas. But we have no reason to be optimistic about Sundalpur or Kapasia exploration as yet. Wonder why Bangladesh is not resolving disputes with NIKO to bring Feni and Chatak into full operation and explore Tenratilla soon?

Cairn/Santos JV is waiting anxiously with everything ready to commence drilling at Shangu with a plan to add about 50 MMCFD by April 2011. But delayed decision-making is about to postpone the drilling program. Why is bureaucracy being allowed to stagnate such positive initiatives? Is there a hidden reason for this? We must realize the overall economic impact of 50 MMCFD additional gas to the Chittagong market.

Again, why is coal policy approval taking so long? Why a coal policy is at all needed to start mining? Why can the prime minister not allocate time to finalize coal mining strategy? All stakeholders are urging the government to start coal mining without delay, so why this hesitation by a democratic government to explore and exploit our own resources in the most economic way?

PM Hasina can lambast her officials, but she cannot also deny her own failures here. Her advisors and secretaries are taking the nation for a ride. We are running out of patience. The prime minister must set deadlines and milestones, and there must be punishment for failures. The energy crisis alone might be enough to bring down the curtain on this government earlier than its time.

PM Uneasy with Energy Bosses