Madrassa abuse case prompts calls for reform

A young madrassa student neglected to pray five times daily. As a punishment, her teacher burned her legs with a heated spatula.

By Sheikh Adnan Fahad for Khabar South Asia in Dhaka

May 18, 2012 (http://www.khabarsouthasia.com/en_GB/articles/apwi/articles/features/2012/05/18/feature-02)
 

Abdul Jalil never imagined his eight-year-old child would be subjected to such a cruel punishment for a minor transgression.

Jannatul Ferdous, his daughter, was admitted to a madrassa in Dhaka in the hope of getting a good education in religious studies. Early this month, that hope turned to a nightmare.

On May 1st, Jannatul was among 14 minor girls whose legs were allegedly seared with a hot spatula by their madrassa teacher "to give them the experience of hell-fire" for failing to observe the ritual of offering prayers five times a day.

"Now when I see my daughter I feel great pain in my heart. She could not sleep for several days and she had fever," Jalil told Khabar South Asia.

"Her injuries are yet to be healed," he added.

Jesmin Akhter, 38, a teacher at Talimul Qur'an Mahila Madrassa in the capital's Kadamtali area, is now in jail pending her trial. During preliminary interrogation Akhter admitted to the abuse, police said.

Talking to Khabar, Biplab Barua, a lawyer, said if police can investigate the case properly and produce strong evidence before the court, Akhter may get life imprisonment.

"Under the Women and Child Repression Control Act, there is no doubt that the madrassa teacher committed a serious offence," Barua said. "She should be given an exemplary punishment. The success of this case will largely depend on the efficiency and capacity of the lawyer who will stand for the complainant."

The incident, analysts say, underscores flaws in the system of religious education in Bangladesh, where many Islamic madrassas operate outside of government control, and with widely differing standards.

In Qaumi [community] madrassas, the focus is almost entirely religious and bans on corporal punishment are often ignored.

"You will find hundreds of madrassas in Bangladesh established here and there over which the government has almost no control," said Lutfar Rahman, Chairman of Journalism and Media Studies Department at Jahangirnagar University.

Sheikh Shahbaz Riad of the Dhaka Teachers' Training College says students at such madrassas are not receiving the same level of education as their peers at other schools in Bangladesh.

"The sole focus on religious studies in Qaumi madrassas makes its students religiously blind,"

Riad told Khabar. The government, he said, must step up its monitoring of such institutions and a modern curriculum should be introduced into its system.

In the Alia [government-regulated] madrassas, apart from Islamic studies, English, math and science are also taught, and that makes all the difference, Riad said.

According to Rahman, the solution lies in enforcing standards across the board and bringing all schools under government purview.

"The government either must bring all students under one system or appoint qualified teachers in the madrassas," he told Khabar.

Women make inroads in Bangladesh, but hurdles remain

By Adnan Fahad for Khabar South Asia in Dhaka – 02/02/12

February 01, 2012 (http://khabarsouthasia.com/en_GB/articles/apwi/articles/features/2012/02/01/feature-02)






Women have achieved remarkable political power in Bangladesh in recent years, but experts say the country still needs to offer women more opportunities and ensure their proper place in what has traditionally been a highly patriarchal society.

Although Bangladesh's constitution affirms gender equality, much work remains to free women from the clutches of illiteracy, hunger, poverty and unemployment, said Professor Nazma Shaheen of the Institute of Nutrition and Food Sciences at Dhaka University.
"If we cannot apply the laws properly, if we cannot recognise woman's capacity in every sector, our goal of women's empowerment will not be achieved," Shaheen told Khabar South Asia.
When women are given the proper opportunities and authority, they can perform equally well, and sometimes even better than their male counterparts, she said. Shaheen cited the example of Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, who is widely respected as an "honest, hardworking and effective minister" in the present cabinet.
"Not only her, but our prime minister and the opposition leader are female. Besides, in the ministries of Home, Foreign Affairs, Women and Child Welfare, Labour and Employment, female ministers are working successfully," Shaheen said.
Despite their remarkable success at the highest echelons of government, women are underrepresented at other levels, she said, adding that women's qualifications and capabilities must be properly recognised by the state.
"If we cannot increase the number of qualified women in the bureaucracy, the ultimate goal of empowering them will remain unfulfilled," she cautioned.
She added, however, that the number of women in academia, government offices, banks and security forces is gradually increasing."This is truly encouraging," she said.
Other experts believe women's empowerment must begin with girls, at the school level.
"Unless we can ensure gender-sensitive textbooks at primary and high schools, women's emancipation from discrimination and oppression will remain a far cry," Helal Hossain Dhali, a professor in the Women and Gender Studies Department of Dhaka University, told Khabar South Asia.
In this regard, he hailed the government's decision to incorporate gender courses in school curricula.
"The newly introduced National Education Policy has made it mandatory to include gender courses in the text curriculum. It is undoubtedly a great step forward," Dhali said.
"But at the same time, it also has to be ensured that other books of English, Bangla, religion or sociology do not contain any words or pictures that may influence the students' mind-set to become discriminatory toward women."
He said many textbook pictures depict a girl working with her mother in the house while her brother studies.
Fazilatunnesa Bappi, a lawyer and activist, said women's representation in parliament, the judiciary, army, academia, and public and private institutions is increasing at a remarkable pace, thus strengthening Bangladesh's democracy.
"I would request every political party, institution and person to unite and work effectively to further strengthen the foundation of democracy in Bangladesh," Fazilatunnesa told Khabar South Asia.

Bangladesh enjoys South Asian "brain gain"

By Adnan Fahad for Khabar South Asia in Dhaka – 04/04/12

April 03, 2012 (http://www.khabarsouthasia.com/en_GB/articles/apwi/articles/features/2012/04/03/feature-02#comments)
Mohammad Sayim Wani grew up in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-occupied Kashmir. Now 25, he saw firsthand how the violent insurgency wracked his motherland when he attended primary and high school in the 1990s.

The bloodshed had a strong impact on the young man, who came to realise that his dreams of becoming a medical doctor would be hard to fulfil if he stayed there. When the opportunity arose six years ago, under a programme being offered to students from SAARC member countries, he left for Bangladesh.

"My parents also were interested to send me out of Kashmir because of the socio-political instability prevailing in our region," Wani told Khabar South Asia.

He is not alone in making that choice. In recent years, Bangladesh has become a sought-after destination for young people intent on a career in medicine or other skilled professional fields. \

Although the country faces economic challenges, its relatively high level of intercommunal harmony has made it attractive to foreign students.

"Like all parents, our parents too want us to stay in peace and security," said Wani, who has spent the past five and a half years studying at Sir Salimullah Medical College in Dhaka. "Though Bangladesh is not a developed nation, we have found social peace and communal harmony here."
Institutions such as the SSMC have attracted a growing number of students from other South Asian nations, including Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

Shah Waliullah, a Pakistani student of SSMC, told Khabar there are more than 80 Pakistani students currently studying at different government medical and dental colleges in Bangladesh under SAARC quota.

"We are being selected by the Ministry of Education for medical studies in Bangladesh through a test conducted by the National Testing Service (NTS), Islamabad," he said.

Shah said the standard of medical education in Bangladesh is similar to that of Pakistan, and the public medical and dental colleges have full-fledged faculties with well-equipped labs and well-developed hospitals.

As in previous years, Bangladesh offered 14 self-financed seats to Pakistani students for the 2012 academic session in Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and Doctor of Dental Sciences (DDS) courses. The selected students will pay tuition and other charges at rates on par with Bangladeshi students.

"It was a great decision to study in Bangladesh as the environment in public educational institutions here is much better than the private institutions in Pakistan," said Hasnain Basid, a native of Lahore who is studying dental science at Dhaka Dental College.

"Peace is the best thing in Bangladesh," he added.

Banned Islamist outfit under strict surveillance in Bangladesh

Surveillance of Hizb-ut-Tahrir's activities on university campuses helped foil a coup plot against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government in December.




By Adnan Fahad and Shahriar Sharif for Khabar South Asia in Dhaka – 14/03/2012



Authorities in Dhaka are trying to neutralise efforts by extremist organisation Hizb-ut-Tahrir to recruit members at Bangladesh's universities, as well as efforts by the group, linked to an attempted coup, to stage demonstrations at Friday prayers.


Bangladeshi authorities have focused on the outlawed group Hizb ut-Tahrir's attempts to recruit and gain favour among university students. Over the past three years, several professors and students have been arrested after attempting to spread the extremist group's message within the university community. [Andrew Biraj/Reuters]

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Police have deployed near mosques around the city since a March 9th attempt by members of the group to start a procession outside the Kataban Masjid near Dhaka University. Three people, including two students, were arrested.

Mohibullah, one of the detained students, said they were held after they gathered in front of the mosque to "conduct a programme".

Hizb-ut-Tahrir, established in Bangladesh in 2001, favours establishment of a khilafah (Islamic state) in Bangladesh instead of the current democratic system.

Banned by the government on October 22nd of last year, Hizb-ut-Tahrir has raised alarm because of its efforts to recruit college students and their instructors.

"This trend is very unusual. According to many researches and investigations, poverty and illiteracy are among the causes that take a group of people to the path of militancy," said Mofizur Rahman, associate professor at Dhaka University’s Mass Communication and Journalism Department.

"But in the cases of Tahrir, we see that those people who are not poor by any means have joined this extremist organisation," he said.

Police say the group's activities are centred in Dhaka. Surveillance has led to key arrests and disrupted rogue army officials' December 2011 coup attempt against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

At a January 19th press conference on the coup, Army spokesman Brigadier General Muhammad Masud Razzak said emails linked the plotters to Hizb-ut-Tahrir and the university community.

Razzak said the army had specific evidence that "up to 16 current and former Bangladeshi military officers with 'extreme religious views' were involved in a 'heinous conspiracy' instigated by Bangladeshi conspirators living abroad."

Quoting army statements from that press conference, Dhaka University sociology professor Mashiur Rahman said Hizb-ut-Tahrir apparently had links to mid-level Bangladesh army officers involved in the failed coup. Police estimate that the outlawed outfit has about 10,000 members throughout Bangladesh.

According to court records, about 270 leaders and activists of Tahrir were arrested in the past two years.

The recent arrest of a son of the press secretary of former prime minister Khaleda Zia on charges of involvement with Hizb-ut-Tahrir shows the reach of the extremist group.

Rishad Kamal Khan, 20, was arrested together with engineering student Faisal Ahmed, 20, on December 5th, 2011. They possessed 16 Hizb-ut-Tahrir posters blaming India for the 2009 Pilkhana massacre, a mutiny by Bangladeshi border guards in which 79 people, mostly senior army officials, were killed.

"We must know why educated people like these university teachers and students are getting involved with Hizb-ut-Tahrir," Mofiz, the mass communications professor, said. "Accurate reasons behind their involvement must be unearthed and proper steps should be taken to completely eradicate this menace from Bangladesh."

In July 2010, detectives arrested Dhaka University Management Department Professor Gulam Mawla for alleged involvement with the group. Two months earlier, thirteen suspected members -- including a teacher and four students -- were arrested at the same university.

On April 20th, 2010, police arrested Professor AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed, said to be the chief co-ordinator of the banned outfit. He is a teacher of the Institute of Business Administration of Dhaka University.

Rahman, the sociology professor, says Bangladesh and India should develop a joint programme to address the unique threat the organisation poses. A January 24th Times of India story reported Hizb-ut-Tahrir has been active in India for at least two years.

"The challenge that would come from Tahrir would be huge," Rahman said. "Tahrir men are not mere madrassa students. They are from high class of the society. So a comprehensive and long-term action plan will be needed to erase the fanatic group."

Bangladeshi dramatists fight terror with art

Theatre productions depict the evils of religious extremism filtering into society.



By Adnan Fahad for Khabar South Asia in Dhaka – 10/2/12
February 09, 2012

Young lovers Nishimon and Tarataj dream of building a house together on the banks of the Gomati River, but Tarataj is distracted by a religious leader who fills his head with different dreams – dreams of a magical and colourful life in heaven.


Soon Tarataj is assigned to kill people with a suicide bomb.

He dies in his attack on an inter-city train loaded with relief materials bound for Bangladesh's northern region, blowing up a compartment filled with intellectuals, poets and litterateurs.

Nishimon is on the train too, but even her love and their once-shared dreams cannot stop Trataj from setting off the bomb.

The tragedy is an updated version of Rabindranath Tagore's famous drama "Bisharjon," in which the Nobel laureate protested the killing of innocent people in the name of religion.

The new version, "Nishimon-Bisharjon," is an example of how theatre has become part of a movement in Bangladesh aiming to combat the rise of radical Islam since the late 1990s.

"I have just manifested the context of the recent times in 'Nishimon-Bisharjon,' keeping intact the poetic essence of the original play," playwright Anan Zaman told Khabar South Asia.

Anan, an assistant professor in Jahangirnagar University's theatre department, said his protagonist Nishimon symbolises peace and protest against fundamentalism.

In the last scene, Nishimon in death seeks out King Govinda Manikya, a character of Tagore's drama who in real life banned killing in the name of religion in the Indian state of Tripura in the late 17th century.

"'Nishimon-Bisharjon' has highlighted the reality in Bangladesh. Though militancy here is now latent, militant activities still exist in various forms," says Ashiq Rahman Leeon, the play's director.

The play has been staged more than a dozen times, including once in Tripura, he said.

Saidur Rahman Lipon, a theatre enthusiast, is also using drama to spread an anti-militancy message.

Lipon is now working with Puthi, an ancient form of Bengali literature that consists of poetic fairy tales and religious stories of rural ancient Bengal.

"Traditionally, Bengali people are not fundamentalist by nature. Islam here in the sub-continent also was accepted as the religion of peace and equality. I want to fight the rise of militancy in Bangladesh through my works," he said.

"Lal Jamin" (Red Land), another drama against the evils of terrorism, violence and religious fundamentalism, will be staged in Tripura on February 22nd and 23rd.

"Lal Jamin" is the story of one woman's struggle during Bangladesh's 1971 liberation war when a group of religious fanatics collaborated with Pakistani soldiers to kill and rape thousands of women, its director, Sudip Chakravarty, said.

The woman fights throughout her life against all forms of terrorism and the use of religion to repress people, he said.

"Our fight against militancy and terrorism will continue until the fanatics are rooted out from the land of Bangladesh," Sudip said.

Young and Future..a publication of the Daily Star on its 21st anniversary...February 27, 2012

Sheikh Adnan Fahad


Lecturer


Sheikh Adnan Fahad, son of Sheikh Abu Hamed and Nurjahan Begum, was born in 25 August, 1981.

Working as a Lecturer at the Department of Journalism and Media Studies in Jahangirnagar University, Fahad says, “From the womb of Kalikaccha (his village under Sarail Upazila of Brahmanbaria district), to the fine-looking campus of Jahangirnagar University, I have, so far, spent 30 years of my life, the destination of which is still unknown, achievement of which is still, I think, very trifling. Being a young man of 30, I have always asked myself, am I doing the right things? Am I properly utilising my time? What have I done for others?”
Fahad is inspired by his father who was a freedom fighter and a social worker. He stood 18th in his SSC examinations under the Comilla Board in the group of Humanities. After passing his HSC examinations from Dhaka College, he got in to Dhaka University. He followed the suggestion of Dr Arefin Siddique, the Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University, and joined the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, which he thinks has been the best decision of his life.
Apart from his studies, he continued with his job as a University reporter of UNB. He passed his Masters Exams acquiring a first class, achieving the 4th position, after which the UNB promoted him to the post of staff correspondent before attaching him to the Prime Minister's Office. He had the opportunity to accompany the Prime Minister during many overseas visits that took him to some 25 countries around the world.
On December 17, 2011, he joined the Department of Journalism and Media Studies of Jahangirnagar University as a Lecturer. He is not only successful for boosting up his career and profession but he is also working for the welfare of the mass people.
“It is obvious that, a person, in the present neo-liberal society, would work for her/ his own success. But I believe success in personal life cannot be the criteria of a real human being. We should dedicate substantial time into people's welfare despite the pressure of a busy life,” says Fahad.
Fahad is involved with a social organisation called “North Sarail Young Graduates Association,” a platform for graduates of his locality. Since 1995, the organisation has been working to spread education in the northern villages of Sarail upazila. Fahad and the members of the organisation are working to keep the socio-political environment of their locality congenial for the students. Every year they arrange general knowledge competition among the students, distribute various types of books among poor students, including other social activities. They have been trying to maintain friendly relations among the local elites and the political leaders by bringing them together in cultural programmes over the years. Besides, the association also operates tree plantation programmes on various occasions in the locality.
Personally, he wishes to take care of the youngsters of his village whose families are not able to bear their educational expenses. He has seen many families in his village who are so poor that they cannot even think about the future of their own children. Fahad plans to help these families by collecting funds from willing institutions and also from his own account.
Fahad envisions a society free from illiteracy. It is worth saying that charity begins at home. That is why he began his mission from his own village. When educated people like Sheikh Adnan Fahad engage themselves in sparking the light of education in every village, then, one day, Bangladesh will truly and inevitably, be enlightened.
By Nusrat Jahan Mou

নদীকৃত্য দিবস

প্রথম আলো

বাঁধমুক্ত নদী আমাদের অধিকার
তুহিন ওয়াদুদ, মো. মনজুরুল কিবরীয়া, মো. মাসুদ পারভেজ, শাহমান মৈশান, শেখ আদনান ফাহাদ, এম সাজ্জাদ হোসেন সিদ্দিকী, হেলাল হোসেন ঢালী | তারিখ: ১৪-০৩-২০১২
এবার ১৪ মার্চ আন্তর্জাতিক নদীকৃত্য দিবস (ইন্টারন্যাশনাল ডে অব অ্যাকশন ফর রিভার্স) আমরা এমন সময় পালন করছি, যখন গোটা বিশ্ব, বিশেষত দক্ষিণ এশিয়ার নদ-নদী বাঁধের ফাঁসে হাঁসফাঁস করছে। নদীর এই দুঃসময় বাংলাদেশ থেকে অনুধাবন করা সবচেয়ে সহজ। আমরা দেখছি, এই বদ্বীপে জালের মতো ছড়িয়ে থাকা প্রাণোচ্ছল নদীগুলো ক্রমেই সংকীর্ণ ও প্রাণহীন হয়ে পড়ছে। নাব্যতা, মৎস্য সম্পদ, প্রতিবেশে জল সিঞ্চনের ক্ষমতা ও সৌন্দর্য হারিয়ে প্রাণপ্রবাহগুলো পরিণত হচ্ছে অশ্রুরেখায়। অস্বীকার করা যাবে না যে আমাদের অপরিকল্পিত উন্নয়ন কর্মকাণ্ড এবং নদী বৈরী তৎপরতাও এর জন্য দায়ী। কিন্তু মূল কারণ উজান থেকে পানি প্রত্যাহার। গঙ্গা নদীতে ফারাক্কা এবং তিস্তায় গজলডোবা ব্যারাজ বসিয়ে পানি প্রত্যাহার শুরু হয়েছিল দুই-তিন দশক আগেই। পরে মহানন্দার মতো আরও কয়েকটি নদীতে ব্যারাজ স্থাপিত হয়েছে। গত এক দশক ধরে উজানের নদীগুলোতে চলছে জলবিদ্যুৎ উৎপাদনের নামে আড়িবাঁধ স্থাপনের যজ্ঞ। আমরা জানি, পদ্মা-মেঘনা-যমুনা অববাহিকার প্রত্যেকটি নদী কোনো না কোনোভাবে হিমালয়ের সঙ্গে যুক্ত। সেখানকার হিমবাহ ও বৃষ্টিপাতই এ দেশের শত শত নদীর চূড়ান্ত উৎস। সুউচ্চ ওই জলজ রাজ্যে শুরু হওয়া বাঁধের উৎপাত কী মাত্রায় পৌঁছেছে, কয়েক বছর আগে ইন্টারন্যাশনাল রিভার্স পরিচালিত একটি সমীক্ষায় তা দেখা গেছে। সমীক্ষা প্রতিবেদনে বলা হয়েছে, হিমালয় অঞ্চলে ৫৫২টি জলবিদ্যুৎ প্রকল্প নেওয়া হয়েছে। সেগুলো বাস্তবায়িত হলে আমাদের নদ-নদীর চূড়ান্ত সর্বনাশই হবে। সম্প্রতি ফের সামনে চলে এসেছে ভারতের আন্তনদী সংযোগ প্রকল্প বাস্তবায়নের প্রশ্নটি।
নদীবিনাশী যে তিন ধরনের বাঁধ এই অঞ্চলে দেখা যায়, তার মধ্যে সংখ্যাগুরু হচ্ছে আমাদের ক্ষেত্রে বহুল আলোচিত টিপাইমুখ প্রকল্পের মতো জলবিদ্যুৎ উৎপাদনকারী স্থাপনাগুলো। সড়ক ও রেল যোগাযোগের নামে কিংবা পানি প্রত্যাহার করে সেচ কাজের দোহাই দিয়ে যেসব বাঁধ ও ব্যারাজ নদীতে আড়াআড়িভাবে বসানো হয়, সেগুলো ব্যাপক সমালোচিত হলেও জলবিদ্যুৎ উৎপাদনকারী বাঁধ নিয়ে এর সমর্থকেরা সাফাই গেয়ে থাকেন। মোটা দাগে বলে থাকেন, এতে পানি প্রত্যাহার হয় না বলে নদীর ক্ষতি নেই এবং জলবিদ্যুৎ হচ্ছে পরিবেশবান্ধব ও সাশ্রয়ী। বাস্তবে জলবিদ্যুৎ উৎপাদনও নদীসহ পরিবেশ-প্রতিবেশ, সমাজ ও অর্থনীতির জন্য বিপর্যয়কর। নদীকৃত্য দিবস পালনের পথিকৃৎ ইন্টারন্যাশনাল রিভার্স এ বছর এই বিষয়ের প্রতিই জোর দিয়েছে। কেবল জলবিদ্যুৎ উৎপাদনকারী বাঁধের পক্ষে সাফাই নয়, বিপুল এই বাণিজ্যের সঙ্গে যুক্ত গোষ্ঠীগুলো জাতিসংঘ ওয়ার্ল্ড কমিশন অন ড্যামসের (ডব্লিউসিডি) সুপারিশ অগ্রাহ্য করার জন্য নিজেরা কয়েক বছর আগে দ্য হাইড্রোপাওয়ার সাসটেইনিবিলিটি অ্যাসেসমেন্ট প্রটোকল (এইএসএপি) নামে একটি প্রশ্নবিদ্ধ দলিল তৈরি করেছে। ইন্টারন্যাশনাল রিভার্স এক ফ্যাক্টশিটে দলিলটির পক্ষপাত, দুর্বল তাত্ত্বিক ভিত্তি ও অকার্যকারিতা তুলে ধরা হয়েছে। রিভারাইন পিপল (Riveৎine People) থেকে আমরা গত কয়েক বছর ধরে বাংলাদেশে আন্তর্জাতিক নদীকৃত্য দিবস পালন করে আসছি। ইন্টারন্যাশনাল রিভার্সের উদ্বেগের সঙ্গে সংহতি প্রকাশ করে এবার আমরা বাঁধমুক্ত নদীর দাবি তুলে ধরছি। তাই আমরা বলছি, ‘বাঁধ হঠাও, বিপর্যয় ঠেকাও’।
আমরা মনে করি, আজ নদীর কাছে জবাবদিহি করার দিন। আমরা জানি, বছরভর নদী তার পানি ও প্রতিবেশে আমাদের জীবন সচ্ছল রাখে। এর প্রতিদান আমরা কীভাবে দিই, আজ তার হিসাব-নিকাশের দিন। ১৯৯৭ সালে ব্রাজিলে কুরিতিবা শহরে এক সমাবেশ থেকে নদীর প্রতি দায়বদ্ধতা মনে করিয়ে দেওয়া এ দিবস পালনের সিদ্ধান্ত হয়েছিল। সেখানে একত্র হয়েছিলেন বিভিন্ন দেশে বাঁধের বিরূপ প্রতিক্রিয়ার শিকার জনগোষ্ঠীর প্রতিনিধিরা। তাইওয়ান, ব্রাজিল, চিলি, লেসোথো, আর্জেন্টিনা, থাইল্যান্ড, রাশিয়া, ফ্রান্স, সুইজারল্যান্ড ও যুক্তরাষ্ট্র থেকে ওই সম্মেলনে অংশগ্রহণকারীরাই ১৪ মার্চকে আন্তর্জাতিক নদীকৃত্য দিবস হিসেবে পালনের ঘোষণা দেন।
বাংলাদেশে আমরা নদীকৃত্য দিবস পালন করছি মূলত নাগরিক দায়িত্বশীলতা বাড়ানোর জন্য। আমরা মনে করি, নদীর প্রতি আমাদের সব সময়ই দায়িত্বশীল থাকা জরুরি। নদীবান্ধব নাগরিকই সর্বোত্তম প্রহরী। নদীকৃত্য দিবসের মাধ্যমে আমরা স্মরণ করিয়ে দিতে চাই, নদী যেমন নিরন্তর তার সিঞ্চনে ও সম্পদে আমাদের উপকার করে যাচ্ছে, তেমনি আমাদেরও উচিত মাস কিংবা মৌসুমভেদে নদীর ব্যাপারে সচেতন থাকা। বহুমাত্রিক ব্যস্ততার এই যুগে নদীর প্রতি অঙ্গীকার পুনর্ব্যক্ত করতে আলাদা দিবস পালনের প্রয়োজনীয়তাও রয়েছে। বাংলাদেশে নদীকৃত্য দিবস পালনের মধ্য দিয়ে নদী সুরক্ষা আন্দোলন আরও বিস্তৃত হবে বলে আমরা বিশ্বাস করি।
মনে রাখা জরুরি, উজানের দেশ থেকে নদীতে বসানো বাঁধের পাশাপাশি আমরা নিজেরা যেসব বাঁধ অপরিকল্পিতভাবে নির্মাণ করছি তার ব্যাপারেও নাগরিকদের সোচ্চার হতে হবে। নদীকেন্দ্রিক মানুষের আর্থসামাজিক, সুখ-সমৃদ্ধি বহুলাংশে নির্ভর করে নদীর সহজাত নাব্যতার ওপর। আর এই সমস্ত নদীতে অপরিকল্পিত যেকোনো বাঁধই হোক না কেন তা ওই অঞ্চলের মানুষের জন্য নিয়ে এসেছে ভয়াবহ পরিস্থিতি। এ প্রসঙ্গে আমরা বড়াল নদীর কথা বলতে চাই। বৃহত্তর রাজশাহী ও পাবনা অঞ্চলের মধ্য দিয়ে প্রবাহিত এবং চলনবিলের প্রাণপ্রবাহ বলে পরিচিত এ নদীতে আমরা নিজেরাই একের পর এক বাঁধ ও স্লুইসগেট নির্মাণ করেছি। ফলে নদীটি পতিত হয়েছে মৃত্যুমুখে। অপরিকল্পিত স্থাপনার কারণে দেশের দক্ষিণ-পশ্চিমাঞ্চলে কী করুণ পরিস্থিতি উদ্ভব হয়েছে, তাও কারও অজানা নয়। এশিয়ার বৃহত্তম প্রাকৃতিক মৎস্যপ্রজনন কেন্দ্র হালদা নদী নিয়ে কর্তৃপক্ষেরও নানা কারসাজি চলছে।
নদী সুরক্ষার যে বিশাল চ্যালেঞ্জ আমাদের সামনে হাজির হয়েছে এবং সামনের দিনগুলোতে দুর্ভাগ্যজনকভাবে আরও বাড়তেই থাকবে, তা মোকাবিলা করতে হলে নাগরিক ঐক্য ও বুদ্ধিবৃত্তিক প্রস্তুতি জরুরি। এবারের নদীকৃত্য দিবস সেই তাগিদ জোরদার করুক।
লেখকেরা বিভিন্ন বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের শিক্ষক এবং নদীবিষয়ক স্বেচ্ছাসেবী উদ্যোগ রিভারাইন পিপলের সঙ্গে যুক্ত।