We the stupid city dwellers

Despite dawn-to-dusk hard labour, traffic cops have failed to bring us, the Stupid city dwellers, under a discipline and system.

Some army personnel also have been deployed in some points of the city to control the traffic movement, but they are only on the VVIP roads.

In fact, the city’s traffic scenario has not changed yet. The common people still now have to spent one/two hour inside the over crowded buses just to go one/two km of distance.

In such a city is it possible to live on?? Only the Almighty Allah knows what is going to be happened to our fate.

SMS SERVICE FOR SEEKING ADMISSION INTO UNIVERSITY: a new era (courtesy-UNB,BANGLADESH

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the country’s talented youths to come up with new ideas, plans and inventions to turn Bangladesh into a modern digital country in line with the Vision-2021.

The Prime Minister gave the call Sunday noon after inaugurating the SMS-Based Automated Registration of Admission Test procedure of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) under the session 2009-2010.

On the occasion, a delegation of the SUST led by its Vice-chancellor Prof. Dr. Md. Saleh Uddin met with the Prime Minister at her Jatiya Sangsad office.

From now on, admission seekers will be able to complete the whole application process through sending and receiving mobile messages.

The admission seekers can have all information on the admission process through typing SUST HELP and sending it to 2777 number from any mobile phone.

The admission tests will be held in two categories -- A and B units.

To apply for a particular unit, an applicant needs to type first three letters of his/her board, roll number of the HSC examination, year and the unit’s category, and send these to 787 from Tele Talk prepaid number.

If the particular applicant has all necessary qualifications, in a return SMS, the SUST authorities will seek confirmation from the applicant for admission registration.

Once the applicant confirms, s/he will be registered and given a roll number, and for this, specific balance will be deducted from the mobile number.

The selected admission applicants will just go to the examination centre on the specific day. The applicants must carry attested photo when they will be appearing at the admission test.

The admission test’s result will later be published online and through mobile messages.

Students have to apply using Teletalk Prepaid Mobile Phone from 13 September 2009 to 20 October 2009 for the admission registration. The admission tests of A and B unit will be held on October 20 respectively at 10 am and 3 pm.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed her happiness and satisfaction over the introduction of the SMS service for SUST’s admission application process.

Addressing the SUST delegation, the Prime Minister said Bangladesh just needs such type of innovative modern activities for attaining its desired development and prosperity.

“The present government will encourage every step towards flourishing of science and technology in the country,” she said.

Sheikh Hasina said the living standards of the country’s people would have to be upgraded through incorporating science and technology in all spheres of life.

Following request from the SUST delegation, the Prime Minister assured them of providing every support from the government to build an IT Building on the university campus.

WILL WE BE DESTROYED??

Over population is the biggest problem facing by Bangladesh. We often term corruption as our main problem, but, in fact, uncontrolled growth of population here in our small Bangladesh is failing every development attempt of the government and non-government organizations.

Besides, lack of practicing of good civic habits even by the well educated people have pushed Bangladesh’s capital city Dhaka towards destruction. Day by day, the metropolitan city is losing its livable fitness.

Industrial wastage pollution, sound pollution, defying traffic rules by the people, unplanned urbanization has made the city life almost impossible.

Now the government must formulate a strict long-term project and implement it very boldly, otherwise the capital city in near future will obviously be

Bangladesh leads the world in facing climate challenges

Bangladesh, one of the worst sufferers of the global warming, is, gradually, becoming the spokesperson of the victim countries, specially of the Least Developed Countries to address the climate change issues and meet its compensation from the developed countries, the main responsible for greenhouse gas emission.

The observation was made by environmentalists, development journalists and educationalists.

Referring to the participation of Bangladesh delegation at the just concluded World Climate Conference-3, Geneva, Switzerland (September 1-5), the experts said the South Asian nation has been successful in proving its sincerity and strategic capacity to tackle the disastrous impacts of the climate change.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina led the 44-member delegation at the Geneva Climate Meet.

Sheikh Hasina at her statement at the conference explained to the international community about Bangladesh’s vulnerability to the climate unpredictability, her government’s plans and programmes to face the challenges.

The world leadership praised the statement of Bangladesh Premier saying that her statement will show many countries of the world the proper way to tackle the climate challenges.

The five-day gathering of national leaders, environmentalists, experts concluded with a call to create a global framework for climate services to common people.

Formulate complete action plan for river dredging, PM orders at maiden meeting of committee on dredging, water resources

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed the authorities concerned to immediately formulate a complete action plan for dredging the country’s rivers, which have mostly silted up and create water crisis in the summer and over-flooding in the rainy season.

She made the directive while chairing the maiden meeting of the recently formed high-powered committee on river dredging and water resource management at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Tuesday.

Sheikh Hasina also told the meeting that the proposed long-term river-dredging project should not be of more than 15 years as “rivers must be given back their navigability immediately”.

Besides, she said, the massive river-dredging project should be started through re-excavating Gorai River since its process had advanced much during the previous Awami League government’s rule with foreign development partners’ finances. She regretted that the subsequent BNP-Jamaat government stopped this one and other dredging projects.

The Prime Minister further asked the authorities to deploy two fulltime dredgers at the estuaries of the Karnaphuli connecting Chittagong seaport and Pashur River linking Mongla seaport to the Bay of Bengal to keep the two important shipping channels navigable round the year.

“Country’s rivers will have to be kept navigable to protect the people from unusual floods, tidal surges and rive erosion,” she said.

Prime Minister Hasina said Dhaleswari, Kapatakkha, Turag, Balu and other rivers will also be dredged in phases. At the same time, maintenance dredging will have to be continued periodically.

Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad briefed news men after the meeting, which lasted three hours elaborately dwelling on the problems stemming from loss of navigability of rivers as well as aqua-resources.

Finance Minister AMA Muhit, Agriculture Minister Begum Motia Chowdhury, Planning Minister Air Vice-Marshal (rtd) AK Khandakar, Land Minister Rezaul Karim Hira, Water Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen, Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni, Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan, Prime Minister’s Advisers HT Imam and Dr Mashiur Rahman and State Minister for Environment and Forests Dr Hasan Mahmud and secretaries concerned attended the meeting. Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister MA Karim and PMO Secretary Mollah Waheeduzaman were present.

The PM lamented that most of the country’s 310 rivers are dying and losing water-preserving capacity for lack of dredging.

“Dredging was not continued regularly in Bangladesh after the Second World War, which resulted in the present polluted, silted condition of most of the rivers,” she told the meeting.

She mentioned that the last Awami League government had planned the dredging of the rivers and started implementing several projects. But the BNP-Jamaat government had stopped the projects “only on political considerations, which later compounded people’s sufferings and caused waste of huge money”, she said.

Hasina noted that the rivers are just like arteries of human body. “If we can save our rivers, our existence will be saved.”

About the previously proposed 30-year-long project for river dredging, the Prime Minister said the scheme should not have over 15-year lifespan.

“We must have a total action plan immediately. There should not be any delay in this regard. Our rivers must be saved,” she said on a high note of urgency.

Sheikh Hasina mentioned her meeting with the representatives of various donor countries and agencies at the PMO few months back regarding mobilizing funds to launch the massive save-the-rivers project.

She also said she had talks with World Bank officials when she was in the United States during the last caretaker government’s rule about the necessity of dredging Bangladesh’s rivers and need for the development partners’ financial assistance in this regard.
“Our development partners are positive on providing assistance. But we need to chalk out the river-dredging project very effectively,” she told the preparatory meeting.

Hasina observed that increasing global warming caused global climate change, and countries like Bangladesh would be worst sufferer of the climate-change-caused natural disasters.

“We cannot sit idle. We will have to remain careful about the disastrous impacts of the climate change and take proper steps to save our people from the natural disasters,” she said.

Long haul to Samcholing school

Without boarding or teacher’s quarter facilities, it’s a 10 km hike back and forth
23 August, 2009 - Going to school in remote Bhutan involves hours of walking. In Samcholing, Trongsa, it is not just some students either.

The 121 students and 10 teachers of the recently upgraded lower secondary school walk uphill for hours to their school without boarding or teacher’s quarter facilities. Located above the main Samcholing village, there is no settlement around for teachers to rent houses and all the 16 teaching and non-teaching staff walk five and half km every day to reach the school. Some students walk about 10 km.

The only female teacher in the school, Shoba G, stays in Kuengarabten. “I wake up at 5 am every morning and walk for an hour and a half to reach school,” she said.

The 2.7 km farm road that connects the school from the Trongsa-Zhemgang highway is not pliable.

Farmers of Samcholing, who live on a sharecropping system and own little land of their own, are not happy too. “We’re the least developed people and our children have no bordering facilities,” said a 52-year-old father. “If the school wasn’t in our village, our children would avail hostel facilities in Taktse middle secondary school,” said another villager.

Walking for hours early in the morning tires students and teachers, which hamper daily lessons, according to a teacher, who chose anonymity. “Students don’t get the attention they deserve and they can’t not give attention in classes too,” he said. “Some students doze off in the first period itself.

The situation becomes worse during monsoons. With incessant rainfall, the rivers get swollen and the footpath becomes too slippery. “I fell down several times and had to take leave,” Shoba G said.

The principal of the school, Tshering Wamling, said that classes had to be called off for about three days, as most students could not make it to school.

Tshering Wamling told Kuensel that the teachers would have to bear the problem for this academic year but things are expected to improve in future, if the road condition is improved and the proposal for a three unit teacher’s quarter materialises. “Taking into consideration the economic situation of the place, I’ve put up a proposals for hostel facilities in the gewog yargye tshogdue,” he said.

The gewog is aware of the problems faced by teachers and students, according to Drakteng gup Tenzin. “Samcholing school was upgraded because Kuengarabten primary school could not be upgraded due to lack of space,” he said.

Gup Tenzin said that the construction of teachers’ quarter is in the pipeline and the proposal for hostel facility was also discussed in the dzongkhag yargye tshogdue. “It depends on the education office in the dzongkhag to provide the facility,” he said, adding that the education office rejects the proposals on grounds that the school is located near the road head and village. “Samcholing was planned as a day school and day schools don’t get any hostel facilities,” said the district education officer in Trongsa, Karma Sonam.

However, gup Tenzin said that teachers could stay in Samcholing village. “But most prefer to stay in Kuengarabten because of lack of electricity in Samcholing,” he said. “An electricity connection could solve the problem.”

By Tashi Dema, Trongsa

see the wonder

Cox's Bazar is the most beautiful beach resort of Bangladesh located near Myanmar border.
The tourist capital of Bangladesh offers miles of golden sands, towering cliffs, surfing waves, rare conch shells, colorful pagodas, Buddhist temples and tribes and delightful seafood.
Having the world's longest (120 kilometers.) beach sloping gently down to the blue waters of the Bay of Bengal, Cox's Bazar is one of the most attractive tourist spots in the country that you can visit on your Bangladesh tour.
Aggameda Khyang elaborately planned and decorated is situated near the entrance to the Cox's Bazar town. It is nestled at the foot of a hill under heavy cover of a stand of large trees.
The main sanctuary-cum-monastery is carried on a series of round timber columns, which apart from accommodating the prayer chamber and an assembly hall, also is the repository of a large of small bronze Buddha images-mostly of Burmese origin-- and some old manuscripts.
Apart from an inscription in Burmese over its entrance, the temple contains some large stucco and bronze Buddha images. Cox's Bazaar offers unspoilt beach Himacheri of about 32 km. The famous "Broken Hills" and waterfalls here are rare sights to be relished with delight.
Inani beach casts a magic spell on those who step into that dreamland. It is only half an hour's drive from Cox's Bazar and an ideal place for Sea-bathing and picnic.