FOCUS WRITING

Writers
Ajgar Ali
Annaya Chowdhury
Nahid Sultan
Mehnaz Metu
Drubo TheConstant
Kamelia Yeasmin
Sharif Hossain Syeed
Sabekun Jannat Shirin
Sayeed Hasan
Mahfijur Rahman
Musfik Alam
Afroja Ali
Farha Diba Sumana

we:`: GB dvBjwU Kvb wekl Mci Rb bq| h KD hLvb Lywk kqvi KiZ cvib| wbR
cob, AbK covi myhvM Ki w`b| nvwc wiwWs!
 Vision 2021

Vision 2021 was the political manifesto of the Bangladesh Awami League party before winning the
National Elections of 2008. It stands as a political vision of Bangladesh for the year 2021, the golden
jubilee of the nation. The policy has been criticized as a policy emblematic of technological optimism
in the context of Bangladesh and the state repression of media, low internet penetration, inadequate
electricity generation. The Vision 2021 is an articulation of where this nation needs to be in 2021
the year which marks the 50th anniversary of Bangladeshs independence.

The main goal is for Bangladesh to become a middle income country where poverty will be
completely eradicated.
1. Democracy and effective parliament
2. Political framework, decentralization of power & peoples participation
3. Good governance through establishing rule of law and avoiding political partisanship
4. Transformation of political culture
5. A society free from corruption
6. Empowerment and equal rights for women
7. Economic development & initiative
a) Meeting basic needs
b) Population and labour force
c) Alleviation of poverty
d) Food & nutrition
e) Health care center
f) Education
g) Industry
h) Energy security
i) Infrastructural development
j) Housing
k) Environment
l) Water resources
8. Bangladesh in the global arena
a) Achievements of liberation
b) Culture
c) Foreign policy
d) Good Religion

Digital
Digital Bangladesh is one of the nation's dreams, and so special emphasis is given on the application
of digital technologies to realise Vision 2021, which we commonly call Digital Bangladesh. By 2021,
after 50 years of independence, our goal is to be a middle-income country with peace, prosperity and
dignity. The government of Bangladesh implemented a large number of projects relating to digital
technologies and a number of these are already underway. National ICT Policy-2009 was developed
with a view to achieve middle-income status of the nation by 2021 and developed status by 2041.
The World Bank classifies economies as low-income, middle-income and high-income groups. The
Per Capita Gross National Income (GNI) is the basis of the classification. Low-income and middle-
income countries are referred to as developing countries. Per Capita GNI is the dollar value of a

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country's income in a year, divided by its population. As of July 1, 2014, low-income economies are
defined (in 2013) as those with GNI per capita of USD 1,045 or less (World Bank Atlas Method) and
middle-income economies with a GNI per capita above USD 1,045 (but less than USD 12,746).
(According to this classification of the Word Bank, Bangladesh should be very close to the middle-
income group now and our target should be the upper middle-income group by 2021.)

According to the National ICT Policy-2009, short-term, mid-term and long-term plans consisting of
306 action plans have been identified for the realisation of Vision 2021. Digital Bangladesh is an issue
regarding which there is no conflict or difference of opinion between the government and the people
all are working hand-in-hand for its realisation. This short article briefly summarises our
achievements in ICT, examines our status in the global perspective, and suggests steps to be taken in
light of the recent advancements in ICT.

Ach
The slogan of Digital Bangladesh of the Government of Bangladesh has special significance for
national development. Digital Bangladesh with Vision 2021 is a big impetus for the use of digital
technology in the country. In spite of several bottlenecks and limitations, works are in progress for the
realisation of Digital Bangladesh. Several projects for digitalisation have been completed and a big
number of projects are under progress. The nation now, with over 12 crore mobile subscribers and 4.3
crore Internet subscribers, enjoys the fruits of digitisation in numerous areas of activities. The ultimate
objective is to make more and more services available at the doorsteps of the people with increased
digitalisation where possible.

A few examples of available digital services are: registration for admission to academic institutions,
publication of results of examinations, registration for jobs abroad, registration of pilgrimage,
collection of official forms, online submission of tax returns, online tendering, etc. Online banking
systems have sped up the financial activities of the country. SMS services for lodging complaints to
police stations, online bill payments for utility services, instant communication with persons working
abroad, and e-passports are some more examples.

Telemedicine services, videoconferencing for the treatment of diseases, and video conferencing for
administrative activities are examples of e-services available to rural Bangladesh. Setting up of nearly
five thousand Union Information Service Canters is a great boost for Digital Bangladesh, especially
for rural areas. Turning eight thousand village post offices and approximately five hundred upazila
post offices into e-centers and the introduction of mobile money order and postal cash cards are
significant achievements in the recent past. Union Information Centers, District Information Cells,
National Information Cell are also revolutionary additions.

There are many more developments in the line. Deputy Commissioner Offices in districts and UNO
offices in upazilas provide a large number of e-services to rural clients. Direct digital services
eliminate middlemen and save both time and money. Without such online services, our cities and
towns would have turned into difficult places to live in.

Status and
In spite of mentionable achievements in the recent past, our position as providers and users of ICT
services is far behind many countries. This can be explained by the benchmarking indices of
responsible international organisations like the United Nations, World Economic Forum, International
Telecommunication Union, etc.

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Actions to be Taken
Bangladesh has an impressive track record of growth and development and aspires to achieve middle-
income status by its 50th birthday. The country needs faster growth which depends on increased
investments, development of human capital and enhanced productivity.

We have mentionable progress in ICT considering our previous condition. But keeping in mind our
current rank and status in comparison with other nations and the rapid development of ICT, the
journey ahead for Digital Bangladesh will not be smooth. Each new technology requires new skills
and training. Human capital is a key factor to develop and adapt innovative ideas and technologies.
Quality ICT education as well as ICT-based education from the primary to tertiary level, along with
the orientation of general mass in ICT should receive top priority.

Elimination of the digital divide between rural and urban areas and between Bangladesh and other
nations is essential in order to be at par with middle-income nations. A peaceful political environment
is essential for intellectual, social, cultural and economic development. Time and time again, the
nation's dream for Vision 2021 and Digital Bangladesh has been shattered by the turbulent political
situation. The country dearly needs a tranquil political environment for the development of all sectors,
including ICT, and for the realisation of Vision 2021 and Digital Bangladesh.

Religious Extremist in Bangladesh

Introduction
A spectre is haunting Bangladesh - the spectre of unbridled, violent religious extremism with attacks
on intellectuals, journalists, bloggers and religious minorities.

Religious extremism
Religious extremism means the holding of extreme religious view by the followers of a particular
religion or sect against other religions or sects.

Extremist in Islam
Religious extremism is found in Islam too. There are many reasons behind it. If we study the world
history, it is clear that Muslim nation has been a victim of distinct cruel behavior of several
dominating religions. In Palestine, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kashmir, and Afghanistan, Muslims have been
undergoing the terror activities of different forces over years. Not only this but non-Muslim powers
are destroying the economy of third world countries that comprise on several Muslim countries. As a
result of such injustice Muslim religious extremists committed the famous 9/11 attack leading to
allow the international media to propagate Islam as religion of terror. Consequently Muslims came to
hit list of all non-Muslim powers and they started to treat them distinctly.

Reasons
The reasons for the existence of religious intolerance are quite a few.

Firstly, ignorance and lack of knowledge and of modem education lead many a youth and young
woman to the blind alleys of backwardness and inaction.

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Secondly, religious extremism grows or develops in an atmosphere of hatred, distrust and enmity. One
religious class or sect hates another simply because there is a difference of beliefs or ideas between
them. One religious group distrusts another because they distrust or doubt each other's intentions.
Prolonged hatred and distrust result in deep rooted enmity. Some extremists developed intense hatred
against each other and started killing.

Thirdly, perhaps the worst form of religious extremism is reflected in terrorist acts across the country.
Religious extremists easily organize themselves into armed groups and bands and provide, military
training for terrorist ads and guerrilla warfare Even if the activity is for pure "jihad" or holy war; it
needs approval of the government. If it is for the purpose of killing the follower of other religions or
for destroying their property, it is intolerable.

Further, there can be national religious extremism that can cause religious wars between one nation or
country and another.

Scenario in Bangladesh
Taking advantage of the current political deadlock, Islamist parties have had a field day last year.
They are now offering Islamic Khilafat as a viable alternative to the democratic order. The more the
mainstream political leaders indulge in corruption, nepotism and mendacity, the more the Islamists are
becoming vocal to present themselves as the ideal leaders capable of bringing about positive changes
in the society.

The reasons behind the rising of religious extremism in Bangladesh are as follows:
a) failure of political leadership
b) The failure of governance at all levels
c) deteriorating law and order
d) lack of access to the justice
e) system for the poor and the disadvantaged are some factors that alienate people from the state.

What to do
This is the need of time to resolve this issue on emergency basis. As this is directly harming the lives
of innocent citizens as well as the economy of the state. Moreover its really dangerous for the
sovereignty of the country.

The steps to be taken-

a) It is a bitter truth that most of the militants are given training in some educational institutes;
so these institutes should be governed properly by the Government of the country.
b) An unbiased and modern content of syllabus should be designed for these institutes
c) They are not aware of the modern world so behave rigidly towards the situations. An up to
date knowledge will empower them to think about the realities.
d) Bitter democracy is better than the good dictatorship. So Govt. should practice pure
democracy
e) Real democracy with its true soul should be given the way to be established in the country.

A country can sustain within the state of poverty but it can never survive in the absence of justice.
This is why enforcement of law and order is essential for overcoming the issue. If due punishments
will be given to the real criminals then there will be a satisfaction among the people that will prevent
them from becoming a hunt for the militants.

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Conclusion
It is a sad testimony that Bangladesh that won its freedom through a bloody Liberation War fought to
establish a modern democratic state is now confronted with elements who want to turn the state into a
medieval theocracy. We have reached the present state because of our failure to develop strong
democratic institutions in the country and our failure to deliver the due governance and justice that the
citizen expected from the state. It is time to take measures to end the rise of extremism.

NATO at 60: New Doctrine & Challenges

Introduction
April 03 is the founding anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Its purpose is
to enhance the stability, well-being, and freedom of its members through a system of collective
security. Members of the alliance agree to defend one another from attack by other nations or by
terrorist groups. NATO has its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The North Atlantic Treaty was
signed on 04 April, 1949 at the beginning of the Cold War. The original purpose of NATO was to
defend Western Europe against possible attack by Communist nations, led by the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics (USSR). It is not only the oldest military alliance in existence-it is also the most
efficient.

NATO at 60:
NATO is at the heart of a vast and expanding network of partnerships with countries from across the
globe and is developing closer cooperation with key civilian institutions. And the Alliance's
enlargement process remains a strong incentive for aspirant countries to get their house in order.
The alliance is keeping the peace in Kosovo, it is engaged in both stabilisation tasks and combat
operations in Afghanistan, runs an anti-terrorist naval operation in the Mediterranean, assists defense
reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina, trains Iraqi security forces, and provides support to the African
Union.

NATO has already proved its success in two strategic doctrines. Its first and most successful task was
to defend Western Europe and African Union.

Challenges before NATO:

As NATO enters its seventh decade, it needs to overcome a series of challenges that are more difficult
and complex than anything it has ever faced before. Even getting to age 60 may have been a
challenge. But there are more ahead.
a) Strategic Relation with Russia: The toughest challenge is NATO's relationship with Russia.
The conflict in Georgia last August 2008 has invited many different interpretations. It has also
raised some serious questions about Russia's commitment to a positive relationship not only
with own neighbours, but also with NATO. More problematic will be NATO's relationship
with its new members Georgia and Ukrain. Russia has made it clear that it opposes
enlargement in her heart. Russia and the NATO reached a breakthrough agreement on May
14, 1997 calling for a new era of cooperation between the former archenemies.
b) Nuclear, cyber & asymmetric war threats: The most modern challenge is dealing with new
threats cyber criminals. In the same time area like Afghanistan the regular war has been
turned into asymmetric warfare which is really tough to fight with. We have seen these past
few years that cyber attacks or a single shot being fired. We are also witnessing the return of
piracy as a serious security challenge as well as the first "hard" security implications of

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 climate change, notably in the High North. At the same time, Iran's nuclear programme
highlights the pressing challenge of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
c) Fighting religious extremism: It is a long list-religious terrorism, the Afghanistan-Pakistan
border, the spread of nuclear and chemical weapons and cyber-_technologies,
overdependence on fossil fuels, regional and ethnic conflicts, poverty and corruption,
narcotics and economic chaos. In recent days the war field is shifting very quickly from
Afghanistan to Pakistan and so on.
d) Involving in Israel-Palestine conflicts: In many international forums especially after the
Obama administration came in the power of White house that NATO can be entrusted with
his oldest and complex problem in Asia. The first is NATO's potential role in any Israeli-
Palestinian settlement, Including peacekeeping tasks and assistance in building Palestine's
security institutions.
e) Intervene in African conflicts: The second, longer term challenge is how to deal with
Africa. Many diplomatic analysts believe that, despite the (African Unity) AU's request to
NATO to help build up the AU's capabilities, the efforts have not yet been completely
effective. The new NATO administration should help NATO examine how it might operate
with Africa and the AU. It could also help explore the possibilities for a new hybrid construct,
such as an AU/NATO set-up-perhaps even involving the UN or EU -which could have a
permanent presence in Africa, become a long term partner for security assistance and work to
prevent conflict.
f) Reform of NATO: NATO by now is quite older and it needs to be reformed internally.
Reforms are also needed to improve both current and future operations, including adjustments
to NATO's command structures, so that greater authority can be delegated to military
commanders and in-theatre integration with partners like the United Nations(UN) can be
improved.
g) 'Open door' Doctrine: Though the Obama administration will be keen not to create a conflict
right at moment with Russia, it will probably also not want to go back on NATO's original
shell. More problematic will be NATO's relationship with Georgia and Ukraine. Because
Russia has made it clear that it opposes enlargement.
h) Reforming Ukraine and Georgia defense structures: NATO has promised Ukraine and
Georgia to reform their defense structures and engagement policy. From experiences in the
Balkans, it is clear that overseeing politically sensitive defense reforms is more difficult than
technical assistance or just serving as an umbrella for allied reform assistance. This may
create a new equation and imbalance in recent future in that area centering kremlin.
i) Offering non-military facilities: NATO, the Alliance can offer to establish a non-military
NATO facility in the region, for example a research institute or training Centre. This would
give the new NATO members a sense that their Allies care about their predicament without
being provocative to Moscow. Even better, a school on post-conflict could be set up where
each country can bring their respective strengths to be trained for their further cooperation.

New doctrine of NATO:

Now there is talk of a new strategic doctrine of NATO, one that would give it the freedom to
intervene even more in conflicts around the world

Out of Area:
NATO's "out of area" doctrine allowed it to send troops to Afghanistan. Afghanistan provides a good
example of the problems NATO faces when it mounts an expeditionary war. The main problem is that
not everyone wants to take part. Only a handful of member states, led by the US and UK, provide

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significant numbers of combat troops in Afghanistan. Others keep their forces out of harm's way in
out of the way places. So it is not very easy task to finish.

Partnership for Peace:

Partnership for peace is working with partner countries on the initiative to establish a Euro-Atlantic
Partnership Council. NATO member states have decided to examine NATO's strategic concept to
ensure that it is fully consistent with Europe's new security situation and challenges Proactive &
Flexible: NATO is as relevant to our common security in the first half of the 21st century as it was to
our common defense in the second half of the 20th century. In this time NATO must also change it its
regular operational doctrine. It needs to become less reactive and more proactive. Military and
defense analysts think it needs to become less rigid and more flexible. It needs to become less
stationary and more expeditionary.

Future of NATO:
These include NATO's expansion, its Afghan operation and its transformation to a leaner
organisation. Hiding beneath those items lies an even bigger question: what is NATO for in the 21st
Century?
a) Turning into ISAF, peacekeepers: Some Allies now want to return to a static, defensive
posture, which is focused primarily on traditional territorial threats, others want to focus
mainly on expeditionary operations like ISAF(International Security Assistance Force) in
Afghanistan. This is likely to be the biggest strategic dilemma facing NATO.
b) Implementing ESDI: NATO is in the process of developing the European Security and
Defense Identity (ESDI) within the Alliance. It will continue to develop a board and dynamic
pattern of cooperation with OSCE operating States in particular through the partnership for
peace. It is essential for Europe's new security situation and challenges.
c) Becoming a police man or peacekeeper: NATO is celebrating its 60th anniversary. All over
the world people are interested to see their role in peace building in future. Diplomatic
analysts predict that NATO has both options for them to image as a police man of Europe or a
peacekeeper for the new world order.

Conclusion:
It is a long list-religious terrorism, the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, the spread of nuclear and
chemical weapons and cyber-technologies, overdependence on fossil fuels, regional and ethnic
conflicts, poverty and corruption, narcotics and economic chaos but not everyone there also someone
to combat and right at this moment it is NATO. The geo-political, environmental and multi
dimensional warfare strategy have put NATO in a deep dilemma with ongoing operations. Many
defense analysts think at 60, NATO has a strong past but a less clear future.

Garments Industry in Bangladesh: Implications for the Economy

A late entrant to apparel trade world with a modest beginning in 80s as a non-traditional sector,Ready-
made Garments(RMG) industry of Bangladesh has carved out a niche for itself.This is the only sector
that has achieved phenomenal growth almost unaided by anybody.Now considered as one of the
major thrust-sectors, RMG industry accounts for over 78.86% of total export earnings,employing,1.8
million people.

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The RMG sector accounts for around two-third of the country's total foreign exchange earning
through merchandise sales abroad. In 2015 total export earnings from garment industries was US
dollars 40 billion. BGMEA members export all kinds of knit and sweater items for men, women,
ladies, boys, girls and infants. Bangladeshi manufacturers export apparels to various countries of the
world. But the major destinations of the country's RMG products are USA, Canada, Germany, France,
Italy, UK, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Holland, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, Austria etc.

Contribution of RMG to national economy

a) Entrepreneurship development
b) Generation of employment
c) Foreign exchange earnings
d) Linkage effects:
e) Backward linkage
f) Forward linkages
g) Government earnings

Problems of Garments industries

a) Insufficient backward linkage industries
b) Back of product diversification
c) Failure to maintain standard of production
d) Low labor productivity
e) Internal political instability
f) Lack of modern technology
g) Lack of competitive capacity

It is being reared and compensated in many ways by the government. Which is most important is that
our garments sector flourished only because of the opportunities for quota free access in the
international market. So, our garments industries are facing a great challenge after lifting the quota
system in 2005.

For acquiring the competitive capacity in a free quota market and to accelerate the growth of our
garments sector, the following measures should be considered :
a) Domestic textile industry is to be given extra protection and the government can at least
minimize the disparity in the effective protection rates received by textile products for sale in
the domestic and export market.
b) Textile weaving, spinning and dying/finishing capacities equipped with modern machinery
and methods are to be tagged with the demand for the export garments industry.
c) It is not desirable that the Bangladeshi business community remains fragmented and operate
as if in different worlds with different interest and needs. Therefore, acrimony and
accusations must be replaced with co-ordination and recognition that each has fate of the
other in its hand.
d) The backward linkage can be improved only if domestic manufacturers can supply the
garments industry units on a competitive credit basis.

After all, the country has the opportunity to build up increased capabilities to adjust to the changing
industry conditions through market and product diversification as well as to develop the local base
through growth of the backward linkage industries.So,the need for the hour is to take initiative in this
direction by our government as well first as well first as our business community thereafter.

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 The Rise of Religious Extremism as a Global Threat

Nowadays, there are so many problems and challenges that our modern society is trying to cope with
environmental pollutions, natural disasters, financial crisis, poverty, conflicts and so forth aspects
which almost every country is, more or less, experiencing. But one of the most dangerous problems
we face is religious extremism. This extremism is found in all religions and there are some certain
reasons behind this extreme situation. Ultimately, this extremism has turned into a great threat to the
world. That is why, some wise and conscious steps are must worldwide.

Religious extremism can be defined as a person or group that takes the position that if others do not
follow their ways, they will be damned. While these extremists present themselves as deeply spiritual,
religious fanaticism comes not from deep faith, but from a lack of it. Dr. Peter T. Coleman and Dr.
Andrea Bartoli give short observation of definitions:

Extremism is a complex phenomenon, although its complexity is often hard to see. Most simply, it
can be defined as activities (beliefs, attitudes, feelings, actions, strategies) of a character far removed
form the ordinary. In conflict settings it manifests as a severe form of conflict engagement. However,
the labeling of activities, people, and groups as extremist, and the defining of what is ordinary in
any setting is always a subjective and political matter."

Extremism has reached to such an extent that it has been a common aspect in every religion. Now, let
is have a look on some major religious:

In Islam, the extremists have their own ideologies different from the mainstreams of Islam. They
interpret the holy verses according to their motives, and use them to brain wash the unaware Muslims.
In the name of ejihadi (fight for Islam) and ekhelafati (implementation of the Quranic law), there have
been made up of many groups and teams in different countries including the Middle East, Africa and
Asia.

Role of SMEs in the economy of Bangladesh'

Small and medium enterprises (SME) is recognized as engine of economic growth and employment
generation for sustainable industrialization in both developed and developing countries of the world.
In context of Bangladesh, there is no alternative of small and medium enterprises for rapid
industrialization and national economic growth through lower capital investment and employment
generation.

Contribution from the small and medium industries to the economy of Bangladesh is significant even
at present and the future potential too, is great. Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs) are accounting
25% of GDP, 80% of industrial jobs, and 25% of the total labour force in Bangladesh even though the
prospective sector gets negligible facilitation from different support service Providers. unfortunately,
there are various constraints that hinder the development of SMEs in Bangladesh, such as lack of
medium to long term credit, limited access to market opportunities, technology and expertise and
business information. Lack of suitable incentives, in efficient and limited services from relevant
government agencies as well as poor capacity of entrepreneurs are other reason for the slow growth of
SMEs. Obviously the government has many things to do to flourish the SMEs because, if they

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flourish, SMEs will create new entrepreneurs, generate more jobs and contribute to a great extent to
the national economy.

Rapid sustainable growth of SMEs is undoubtedly one vehicle for accelerating national economic
growth to the point of having a measurable impact in the way of reduction of poverty and
unemployment, generation of more employment. Generally SMEs are labor intensive with relatively
low capital intensity. The SME also possess a character of privilege as cost effective and comparative
cost advantages in nature. The SME policy strategies have been formulated to assist in the
achievement of the goals and targets the MDGs set by the government. The BSCIC should be allowed
to operate as a real autonomous body with ample resources and man power. A special financial
institution for all the small and medium industries should be created as soon as possible and
nationalized commercial banks need to be encouraged to create special units in their organizations to
attend to the special needs of these industries. Consultancy and advisory services by capable people
have to be created and delivery of services should be a full package of assistance covering technology,
finance and marketing.

In almost every part of the world, limited access to finance is considered a key constraint to private
sector growth. This is especially true for SMEs of our country as they are facing different types of
problems for availing institutional finance though SMEs play dominantly important role in the
economy of Bangladesh by making up over 90% of industrial enterprises, providing employment to 4
out of 5 industrial workers and contributing to over one third of industrial value added to gross
domestic product (GDP). Implementation of poverty alleviation action programs, the poverty
reduction strategy of the government has clearly identified some core principles and parameters both
at macro and micro levels for reducing the existing poverty level at least half within 2015 as targeted

Earthquake and Safety

An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the perceptible shaking of the surface of
the Earth, resulting from the sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves.
Earthquakes can be violent enough to toss people around and destroy whole cities. The seismicity or
seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a
period of time.

Effects of Earthquakes
Shaking and ground rupture
Landslides and avalanches
Fires
Soil liquefaction
Tsunami
Floods
Human impacts
Earthquakes are a common occurrence, rumbling below Earth's surface thousands of times every day.
But major earthquakes are less common. Here are some things to do to prepare for an earthquake and
what to do once the ground starts shaking.

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Safety Tips
a) Have an earthquake readiness plan.
b) Consult a professional to learn how to make your home sturdier, such as bolting bookcases to
wall studs, installing strong latches on cupboards, and strapping the water heater to wall studs.
c) Locate a place in each room of the house that you can go to in case of an earthquake. It should
be a spot where nothing is likely to fall on you.
d) Keep a supply of canned food, an up-to-date first aid kit, 3 gallons (11.4 liters) of water per
person, dust masks and goggles, and a working battery-operated radio and flashlights.
e) Know how to turn off your gas and water mains.

If Shaking Begins
a) Drop down; take cover under a desk or table and hold on.
b) Stay indoors until the shaking stops and you're sure it's safe to exit.
c) Stay away from bookcases or furniture that can fall on you.
d) Stay away from windows. In a high-rise building, expect the fire alarms and sprinklers to go
off during a quake.
e) If you are in bed, hold on and stay there, protecting your head with a pillow.
f) If you are outdoors, find a clear spot away from buildings, trees, and power lines. Drop to the
ground.
g) If you are in a car, slow down and drive to a clear place. Stay in the car until the shaking
stops.

Natural Hazards | Thunderstorms

What are Thunderstorms?

A Thunderstorm, or Electrical Storm, is a weather formation where lightning and thunder are
produced by a cumulonimbus cloud. During a thunderstorm you can also get heavy rain, wind and
hail. Thunderstorms Hazard

What Causes Thunderstorms?

Thunderstorms are caused when moist, warm air rises from the Earth's surface. This moist, warm air
cools as it rises and condenses to form clouds. If there is a lot of warm air rising, it can reach up to 12
miles (19 kilometers) high. Cool air moving downwards (known as a 'Downdraught') and warm air
moving upwards (known as an 'Updraught') create the energy and electricity which produce the
thunderstorms lightning and thunder. The average thunderstorm lasts for 30 minutes but can last for
hours and be as large as 10km wide.

Where Can Thunderstorms Occur?

Thunderstorms can happen anywhere where the right conditions are present. They are most likely to
form during late spring and summer and typically happen between late afternoon and evening.
If you see lightning you can tell how far away the Thunderstorm is from you by listening for thunder.
By counting the number of seconds between the lighting and the thunder you can work out how far
away the thunderstorm is.

Remember, thunder is simply sound caused by the lightning.

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Lightning
Lighting is one of the most spectacular results of a thunderstorm. Inside the cloud of a thunderstorm, a
massive electrical charge forms. The positive charge is near the top of the cloud and the negative
charge is sent to the bottom. Once the charge has built up enough inside the cloud, a lightning bolt is
released from the cloud. This electrical discharge can jump from cloud to cloud as it heads towards
the ground. Lightning can travel at speeds of up to 45 kilometres per second (100,000 miles per hour)
and reach a temperature of 28,000 C (50,000 F).

Thunder
Lighting is one of the most spectacular results of a thunderstorm. Inside the cloud of a thunderstorm, a
massive electrical charge forms. The positive charge is near the top of the cloud and the negative
charge is sent to the bottom. Once the charge has built up enough inside the cloud, a lightning bolt is
released from the cloud. This electrical discharge can jump from cloud to cloud as it heads towards
the ground. Lightning can travel at speeds of up to 45 kilometres per second (100,000 miles per hour)
and reach a temperature of 28,000 C (50,000 F).

Lightning Safety Precautions

When thunderstorms approach there are some steps you should take to lower your chance of
becoming a lightning strike statistic. These safety procedures are suggested by the National Weather
Service:

a) When a thunderstorm threatens, get inside a home or large building, or inside an all-metal
(not convertible) vehicle.
b) Inside a home, avoid using the telephone, except for emergencies.
c) If outside, with no time to reach a safe building or an automobile, follow these rules.
d) Do not stand underneath a natural lighting rod such as a tall, isolated tree.
e) Avoid projecting above the surrounding landscape as you would do if you were standing on a
hilltop, in an open field, on the beach, or fishing from a small boat.
f) Get out of and away from open water.
g) Get away from tractors and other metal farm equipment.
h) Get off of and away from motorcycles, scooters, golf carts and bicycles. Put down golf clubs.
i) Stay away from wire fences, clotheslines, metal pipes, rails and other metallic paths which
could carry lightning to you from some distance away.
j) Avoid standing in small isolated sheds or other small structures in open areas.
k) In a forest, seek shelter in a low area under a thick growth of small trees. In open areas, go to
a low place such as a ravine or a valley. Be alert for flash floods.
l) If you're hopelessly isolated in a level field of prairie and you feel your hair stand on end -
indicating that lightning is about to strike - drop to your knees and bend forward putting your
hands on your knees. Do not lie flat on the ground.

Prospects and challenges of Blue Economy in Bangladesh

The concept of Blue Economy has opened a new horizon for economic development of the coastal
countries through utilizing sea and marine resources at national and international level. The concept
has become a buzzword for sustainable development particularly in drafting the post-2015

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development goals. Estimates suggest some 30 million Bangladeshi directly depend on oceanic
economic activities like fisheries and commercial transportation. Coastal and Island developing
countries have remained at the forefront of this Blue Economy advocacy, recognizing that the oceans
have a major role to play in humanity's future.

Blue Economy conceptualizes oceans as 'Development Spaces' Where spatial planning integrates
conservation, sustainable use, oil and mineral wealth extraction, bio-prospecting, sustainable energy
production and marine transport.

Bangladesh's economy is sea borne to a good extent and with $130 billion GDP the country's
economy stands the 44th. Sovereign rights have been established on more than 118,000 sq km of
maritime territory, 200 nautical miles (NM) of exclusive economic zone, and 354 NM of continental
shelf after positive verdicts in international courts. In the same way , the verdict with India declared
on 7 July 2014 also allowed Bangladesh's sovereign rights on all the living and mineral resources of
the Continental Shelf extending up to 354 nautical miles.

Fundamental principles of Blue Economy

1. Optimizing the benefits received from the development of their marine environments e.g
fishery agreements, bio prospecting, oil and mineral extraction.
2. Promoting national equity, including gender equality, and in particular the generation of
inclusive growth and decent jobs for all.
3. Having their concerns and interests properly reflected in the development of seas beyond
national jurisdiction, including the refinement of international governance mechanisms and
their concerns as States proximate to seabed development.

Bay of Bengal partnership

The Bay of Bengal is the largest bay in the world that forms the north-eastern part of the Indian
Ocean.

The role of marine resources in poverty alleviation, acquiring autarky in food productions, protecting
environmental balance, facing adverse impacts of climate change and other economic possibilities are
unlimited. But with the potentialities and possibilities the challenges also accompany. The following
may be the challenges:
a) Ensuring the sovereignty over the total coastal area.
b) Maintaining the security over the economic area.
c) Establishing marine friendly infrastructure for marine tourist.
d) Protecting the area from the international smugglers and fish pirates.
e) Maintaining investment friendly environment in the awarded area.
f) Sustainable use of biodiversity.
g) Maintaining marine and coastal ecosystems.
h) Preserving mangrove and sea grass.
i) Addressing climate change and managing carbon emission.
j) Maintaining sea level rise and change in ecosystem and temperatures, from coral bleaching.
k) Addressing ocean acidification and blue carbon.
l) Keeping the sea area free from pollution and marine debris. and
m) The growing human population, intensification of agriculture.

Potentialities of Blue Economy in Bangladesh

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Food security:
Food security is very closely related to the sustainable use of biodiversity particularly where it
pertains to the exploitation of wild fisheries.

Fisheries:
Globally 350 million jobs are linked to marine fisheries, with 90 per cent of fishers living in
developing countries. The value of fish traded by developing countries is estimated at $25 billion,
making it their largest single trade item. Global catch rose from four million tonnes in 1900 to 86.7
million tonnes in 2000, but has stagnated subsequently.

Marine and coastal tourism:

Marine and coastal tourism is of key importance to many developing countries. Despite the global
economic crisis international tourism continued to grow.

Harvesting power generation:

Researchers have recently completed the first ocean tests of a system that uses a so called artificial
muscle to generate power from the motion of a buoy riding up and down on the waves.

Energy from waves:

A new device being developed by the UK-based Checkmate Sea Energy could help tap an important
portion of this wave power. The device is a long, water-filled rubber tube closed at both ends power
technologies.

Shipping and port facilities:

Eighty per cent of global trade by volume, and over 70 per cent by value, is carried by sea and
handled by ports worldwide.

Available of crude oil:

In 2009 offshore fields account for 32 per cent of worldwide crude oil production and this is projected
to rise to 34 per cent in 2025 and higher subsequently, as almost half the remaining recoverable
conventional oil is estimated to be in offshore fields a quarter of that in deep water.

Biotechnology:
The global market for marine biotechnology products and processes is currently estimated at $2.8
billion by 2017.

Submarine mining & exploration of oil and gas:

The world is gearing up for the exploration and exploitation of mineral deposits on and beneath the
seafloor. Industry, due to rising commodity prices, is turning its attention to the potential riches of
poly-metallic nodules, cobalt crusts ND massive sulphides deposits the latter a source of rare earth
elements, such as yttrium, dysprosium and terbium, important in new ICT hardware and renewable
energy technologies.
Port tax or levy:
At present, around 600 ships arrive in Bangladesh per year and anchor in the ports of Chittagong and
Mongla.

Blue economy is a relatively new jargon in Bangladesh but very common in global economy even in
Indonesia. This is a hope and means of development in the near future.

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 Is high accumulation of foreign reserve good or bad? Explain your views.

Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves have reached a new height, crossing the $30-billion mark.
Standing at $30.02 billion, the reserves are the highest in the country's history and enough to meet
import bills for at least eight months, according to central bank data.

Remittance flow and a steady growth of exports helped the reserves go up. Sound foreign currency
management and low commodity prices in the global market also contributed to the rise. The reserves
have been hitting new highs every month or two due to a lack of demand for investment, according to
experts. Imports are not rising in line with the growth in remittance and export. So, our foreign
currency holdings are going up day by day.

The growing foreign currency reserve has helped the central bank maintain a stable exchange rate
over the last couple of years and provided a more favourable economic environment. BB data shows
imports grew only 4.8 percent in July-April of the outgoing fiscal year. On the other hand, exports
rose nearly 9 percent in the first 11 months of the fiscal year.

Bangladesh Bank is continuing to purchase US dollars from commercial banks to keep the exchange
rate stable. So far this month, data shows that the central bank has purchased around $350 million
from different commercial banks to take this fiscal year's tally to $3.9 billion.

BB has been buying dollars for the past four fiscal years to manage the exchange rate and prevent the
greenback from falling against the local currency. If the greenback falls, exporters and remitters
would lose out on value, while importers would benefit.

With purchase of the greenback, Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves are surging to new heights
every year; the reserves currently stand at nearly $29.5 billion, which is enough to meet import bills of
more than eight months.

There is no denying that there are certain benefits in holding of higher reserves -- it reduces the
probability of financial distress, lessens sovereign default risk and lowers real exchange rate volatility,
inter alia. However, these benefits have to be weighed with costs of holding reserves.

Bangladeshs current level of FX reserves seems excessive, although not markedly, based on key
criteria that are relevant for the country. Reserves should account for at least three months worth of a
countrys import bills, a widely accepted measure derived from a trade-related approach to the
balance of payment. This is one of the key benchmarks that most countries follow when they calculate
optimal reserves. With the current level of reserves Bangladesh can meet approximately 8 months of
its import bills.
Other indicators such as reserves to GDP ratio (benchmark 10%) and reserves to money supply ratio
(20%) suggest that the central bank is holding more reserves than what the economy requires.

Finally, there is no denying that the rise of reserves largely banking on remittances reversed the
balance of payment position. However, it is high time to revisit our development policies regarding
remittances. Over-reliance on remittances could make Bangladesh Asia's next Philippines. One key
difference between Bangladesh and China (or similar countries that accumulated huge reserves) is that
the latter uses reserves to support its mercantilist (undervalued) exchange rate policies to defend its

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export-led growth, although Beijing is now revisiting the model. In the case of Bangladesh higher
growth in remittances appreciates local currency making land and other non-tradables expensive that
could eventually discourage industrialisation.

To sum-up, while FX reserves are necessary to maintain macroeconomic stability, the central bank's
goal should be maintaining an optimal level of reserves, disallowing politicians taking mileage from
it. The current level of reserves should also worry the policymakers as they are partly accumulated
due to slowdown in import growth, in turn slackening of economic activities. More importantly, the
country's policy priority concerning remittances should be revisited as their excess growth could make
non-tradables expensive and discourage its long-term industrialisation, turning Bangladesh the next
Philippines of Asia.

Digital Bangladesh & ICT development

ICT is the backbone of any digital initiative. ICT is the backbone of any digital initiative. ICT covers
the vast area of information technology, communication technology and the telecommunication
technology. ICT is also a combination of physical backbone and intellect. Computer systems, network
machineries, software, wire and wireless connectivity systems, broadcast hardware and many other
hardware and accessories are the physical backbone. The trained human behind the backbone are the
intellect. Digital Bangladesh is an Idea that includes the IT use for management, administration and
governance to ensure transparency, accountability and answerability at all levels of society and state.
To materialize the idea of digital Bangladesh, development of countrywide backbone and expected
number of human recourses are the basic needs.

Despite having 50 years of history the government has only from 1997 started the process of
developing a national ICT strategy. In 2002 Bangladesh identified ICT as a "thrust sector" as it
represents potential for quick wins in reforms, job creation, industry growth, improving governance
and facilitating inclusion, and it has high spillover effects to other sectors. Today, in Bangladesh, the
overall IT sector (excluding telecoms) is small, valued at $300 million, with IT/ITES claiming 39%
($117 million) of that value. The overall IT/ITES industry has enjoyed a high growth rate of 40% over
the last five (5) years and this trend is expected to continue.

Metro Rail Project in Bangladesh

The Dhaka Metro (Bengali: ) is an approved metro rail system to be constructed in Dhaka,
the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. The system is referred to as the MRT, abbreviated from
Mass Rapid Transit. It has been long called for to solve the extreme amount of traffic jams and
congestion that occur throughout the entire city on a daily basis. Dhaka's traffic congestion is among
the heaviest in the world. A feasibility study has been completed, the route has been decided upon, yet
construction has not begun. The progress was stalled by a number of objections to the route alignment
by numerous organisations. The deal for the first route (MRT line 6) of 20.1 kilometres (12.5 mi),
costing $2.8 billion, was signed by the government with the Japan International Cooperation Agency
on 20 February 2013. The first route will start from Pallabi, a northern suburb of Dhaka to Sayedabad,
in the south of the capital. Most of the metro will be elevated above current roads, with stations also
elevated. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation of India will serve as a project consultant. A video

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released by the Dhaka Transport Coordination Board appears to show that the system plans to use
smartcards.

As of May 2015, soil testing for the line was nearly complete, with construction for the first and
second sections planned to begin in November 2016 and July 2017, respectively, for planned public
operation by the end of 2019.

The capacity of each train is 1800 passengers. With 56 trains to be in service by 2019, Dhaka Metro
will be able to service more than 60,000 passengers per hour with wait times approximately 4
minutes. A 2011 report stated that traffic in Dhaka can stand still for as much as 7 hours a day. With
the route being able to be completed in less than 40 minutes at an average speed of 100 km/h, it will
drastically reduce the number of private cars on the roads of Dhaka as well as travel times. A tentative
alignment has been decided upon for three new metro lines. The stations on MRT Line 6 are still
unclear. The Daily Star has reported that stations include Pallabi, Sayedabad, Chandrima Udyan,
Agargaon, Bijoy Sharani, Shahbagh, TSC, Bangla Academy, Curzon Hall, Topkhana and Bangladesh
Bank, but did not state where along the line they would be placed. The original map above also has
different station placement to a Dhaka Transport Coordination Board video released in January 2012.
The table below uses the most recent information from the DTCB video.

Indian inter river linking project & Bangladesh

The Indian Rivers Inter-link is a proposed large-scale civil engineering project that aims to link Indian
rivers by a network of reservoirs and canals and so reduce persistent floods in some parts and water
shortages in other parts of India.

The Inter-link project has been split into three parts: a northern Himalayan rivers inter-link
component, a southern Peninsular component and starting 2005, an intrastate rivers linking
component. The project is being managed by India's National Water Development Agency (NWDA),
under its Ministry of Water Resources. NWDA has studied and prepared reports on 14 inter-link
projects for Himalayan component, 16 inter-link projects for Peninsular component and 37 intrastate
river linking projects. The average rainfall in India is about 4,000 billion cubic meters, but most of
India's rainfall comes over a 4-month period June through September. Furthermore, the rain across
the nation is not uniform, the east and north gets most of the rain, while the west and south get less.
India also sees years of excess monsoons and floods, followed by below average or late monsoons
with droughts. This geographical and time variance in availability of natural water versus the year
round demand for irrigation, drinking and industrial water creates a demand-supply gap, that has been
worsening with India's rising population. Proponents of the rivers inter-linking projects claim the
answers to India's water problem is to conserve the abundant monsoon water bounty, store it in
reservoirs, and deliver this water using rivers inter-linking project to areas and over times when
water becomes scarce. Beyond water security, the project is also seen to offer potential benefits to
transport infrastructure through navigation, as well as to broadening income sources in rural areas
through fish farming. Opponents are concerned about knowledge gap on environmental, ecological,
social displacement impacts as well as unseen and unknown risks associated with tinkering with
nature. Others are concerned that some projects create international impact and the rights of nations
such as Bangladesh must be respected and negotiated. The people of Bangladesh are also against the
project.

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History
British colonial era: The Inter-linking of Rivers in India proposal has a long history. During the
British colonial rule, for example, the 19th century engineer Arthur Cotton proposed the plan to
interlink major Indian rivers in order to hasten import and export of goods from its colony in South
Asia, as well as to address water shortages and droughts in southeastern India, now Andhra Pradesh
and Orissa.

Post independence: In the 1970s, Dr. K.L. Rao, a dams designer and former irrigation minister
proposed "National Water Grid". He was concerned about the severe shortages of water in the South
and repetitive flooding in the North every year. He suggested that the Brahmaputra and Ganga basins
are water surplus areas, and central and south India as water deficit areas. He proposed that surplus
water be diverted to areas of deficit. When Rao made the proposal, several inter-basin transfer
projects had already been successfully implemented in India, and Rao suggested that the success be
scaled up. In 1980, Indias Ministry of Water Resources came out with a report entitled "National
Perspectives for Water Resources Development". This report split the water development project in
two parts the Himalayan and Peninsular components. Congress Party came to power and it
abandoned the plan. In 1982, India financed and set up a committee of nominated experts, through
National Water Development Agency (NWDA) to complete detailed studies, surveys and
investigations in respect of reservoirs, canals and all aspects of feasibility of inter-linking Peninsular
rivers and related water resource management. NWDA has produced many reports over 30 years,
from 1982 through 2013. However, the projects were not pursued.The river inter-linking idea was
revived in 1999, after a new political alliance formed the central government, but this time with a
major strategic shift. The proposal was modified to intra-basin development as opposed to inter-basin
water transfer.

21st century: Drought affected area farm lands in Karnataka. By 2004, a different political alliance
led by Congress Party was in power, and it resurrected its opposition to the project concept and plans.
Social activists campaigned that the project may be disastrous in terms of cost, potential
environmental and ecological damage, water table and unseen dangers inherent with tinkering with
nature. The central government of India, from 2005 through 2013, instituted a number of committees,
rejected a number of reports, and financed a series of feasibility and impact studies, each with
changing environmental law and standards. In February 2012, while disposing a Public Interest
Litigation (PIL) lodged in the year 2002, Supreme Court (SC) refused to give any direction for
implementation of Rivers Interlinking Project. SC stated that it involves policy decisions which are
part of legislative competence of state and central governments. However, SC directed the Ministry of
Water Resources to constitute an experts committee to pursue the matter with the governments as no
party had pleaded against the implementation of Rivers Interlinking Project.

The need
India receives about 4,000 cubic kilometers of rain annually, or about 1 million gallons of fresh water
per person every year.[2] However, the precipitation pattern in India varies dramatically across
distance and over calendar months. Much of the precipitation in India, about 85%, is received during
summer months through monsoons in the Himalayan catchments of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna
(GBM) basin. The northeastern region of the country receives heavy precipitation, in comparison with
the northwestern, western and southern parts. The uncertainty of start date of monsoons, sometimes
marked by prolonged dry spells and fluctuations in seasonal and annual rainfall is a serious problem
for the country. The nation sees cycles of drought years and flood years, with large parts of west and

Page 19 of 36
south experiencing more deficits and large variations, resulting in immense hardship particularly the
poorest farmers and rural populations. Lack of irrigation water regionally leads to crop failures and
farmer suicides. Despite abundant rains during JulySeptember, some regions in other seasons see
shortages of drinking water. Some years, the problem temporarily becomes too much rainfall, and
weeks of havoc from floods. This excess-scarcity regional disparity and flood-drought cycles have
created the need for water resources management. Rivers inter-linking is one proposal to address that
need. Population and food security:Population increase in India is the other driver of need for river
inter-linking. India's population growth rate has been falling, but still continues to increase by about
10 to 15 million people every year. The resulting demand for food must be satisfied with higher yields
and better crop security, both of which require adequate irrigation of about 140 million hectares of
land. Currently, just a fraction of that land is irrigated, and most irrigation relies on monsoon. River
inter-linking is claimed to be a possible means of assured and better irrigation for more farmers, and
thus better food security for a growing population. In a tropical country like India with high
evapotranspiration, food security can be achieved with water security which in turn is achieved with
energy security to pump water to uplands from water surplus lower elevation river points up to sea
level.

Salt export needs: When sufficient salt export is not taking place from a river basin to the sea in an
attempt to harness the river water fully, it leads to river basin closer and the available water in
downstream area of the river basin becomes saline and/ or alkaline water. Land irrigated with saline or
alkaline water becomes gradually in to saline or alkali soils. The water percolation in alkali soils is
very poor leading to waterlogging problems. Proliferation of alkali soils would compel the farmers to
cultivate rice or grasses only as the soil productivity is poor with other crops and tree plantations.
Cotton is the preferred crop in saline soils compared to many other crops. Interlinking water surplus
rivers with water deficit rivers is needed for the long term sustainable productivity of the river basins
and for mitigating the anthropogenic influences on the rivers by allowing adequate salt export to the
sea in the form of environmental flows.

Navigation: India needs infrastructure for logistics and movement of freight. Using connected rivers
as navigation is a cleaner, low carbon footprint form of transport infrastructure, particularly for ores
and food grains.

Play media: India's worsening water problem satellite evidence of critical groundwater levels. The
blue and purple regions have greatest levels of groundwater depletion. Courtesy Goddard Space
Flight Center, NASA, United States (2010).India currently stores only 30 days of rainfall, while
developed nations strategically store 900 days worth of water demand in arid areas river basins and
reservoirs. Indias dam reservoirs store only 200 cubic meters per person. India also relies excessively
on groundwater, which accounts for over 50 percent of irrigated area with 20 million tube wells
installed. About 15 percent of Indias food is being produced using rapidly depleting groundwater.
The end of the era of massive expansion in groundwater use is going to demand greater reliance on
surface water supply systems. Proponents of the project suggest India's water situation is already
critical, and it needs sustainable development and management of surface water and groundwater
usage.

Plan
The National perspective plan envisions about 150 million acre feet (MAF) (185 billion cubic metres)
of water storage along with building inter-links. These storages and the interlinks will add nearly 170
million acre feet of water for beneficial uses in India, enabling irrigation over an additional area of 35

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million hectares, generation of 40,000 MW capacity hydro power, flood control and other benefits.
The total surface water available to India is nearly 1440 million acre feet (1776 billion cubic meters)
of which only 220 million acre feet was being used in the year 1979. The rest is neither utilized nor
managed, and it causes disastrous floods year after year. Up to 1979, India had built over 600 storage
dams with an aggregate capacity of 171 billion cubic meters. These small storages hardly enable a
seventh of the water available in the country to be utilized beneficially to its fullest potential. From
India-wide perspective, at least 946 billion cubic meters of water flow annually could be utilized in
India, power generation capacity added and perennial inland navigation could be provided. Also some
benefits of flood control would be achieved. The project claims that the development of the rivers of
the sub-continent, each state of India, as well as its international neighbors stand to gain by way of
additional irrigation, hydro power generation, navigation and flood control. The project may also
contribute to food security to the anticipated population peak of India.

The Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna is a major international drainage basin which carries more than
1,000 million acre feet out of total 1440 million acre feet in India. Water is a scarce commodity and
several basins such as Cauvery, Yamuna, Sutlej, Ravi and other smaller inter-State/intra-State rivers
are short of water. 99 districts of the country are classified as drought prone, an area of about 40
million hectare is prone to recurring floods. The inter-link project is expected to help reduce the scale
of this suffering and associated losses.The National Perspective Plan comprised, starting 1980s, of
two main components:

1. Himalayan Rivers Development, and

2. Peninsular Rivers Development

Himalayan component
Himalayan Rivers Development envisages construction of storage reservoirs on the main Ganga and
the Brahmaputra and their principal tributaries in India and Nepal along with inter-linking canal
system to transfer surplus flows of the eastern tributaries of the Ganga to the West apart from linking
of the main Brahmaputra with the Ganga. Apart from providing irrigation to an additional area of
about 22 million hectares the generation of about 30 million kilowatt of hydro-power, it will provide
substantial flood control in the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin. The Scheme will benefit not only the States
in the Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin, but also Nepal and Bangladesh, assuming river flow management
treaties are successfully negotiated. The Himalayan component would consist of a series of dams built
along the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers in India, Nepal and Bhutan for the purposes of storage.
Canals would be built to transfer surplus water from the eastern tributaries of the Ganga to the west.
This is expected to contribute to flood control measures in the Ganga and Brahmaputra river basins. It
could also provide excess water for the Farakka Barrage to flush out the silt at the port of Kolkata. By
2015, fourteen inter-links under consideration for Himalayan component are as follows, with
feasibility study status identified:

GhagharaYamuna link (Feasibility study complete)

SardaYamuna link (Feasibility study complete)
YamunaRajasthan link
RajasthanSabarmati link
KosiGhaghara link
KosiMechi link
ManasSankoshTistaGanga link

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 JogighopaTistaFarakka link
GangaDamodarSubernarekha link
SubernarekhaMahanadi link
FarakkaSunderbans link
GandakGanga link
ChunarSone Barrage link
Sone damSouthern tributaries of Ganga link

Peninsular Component
This Scheme is divided in four major parts.

1. Interlinking of Mahanadi-Godavari-Krishna-Pennar-Cauvery,
2. Interlinking of West Flowing Rivers, North of Bombay and South of Tapi,
3. Inter-linking of Ken with Chambal and
4. Diversion of some water from West Flowing Rivers

This component will irrigate an additional 25 million hectares by surface waters, 10 million hectares
by increased use of ground waters and generate hydro power, apart from benefits of improved flood
control and regional navigation. The main part of the project would send water from the eastern part
of India to the south and west. The southern development project (Phase I) would consist of four main
parts. First, the Mahanadi, Godavari. Krishna and Kaveri rivers would all be inter-linked by canals.
Reservoirs and dams would be built along the course of these rivers. These would be used to transfer
surplus water from the Mahanadi and Godavari rivers to the south of India. Under Phase II, some
rivers that flow west to the north of Mumbai and the south of Tapi would be inter-linked. The water
would supply additional drinking water needs of Mumbai and provide irrigation in the coastal areas of
Maharashtra. In Phase 3, the Ken and Chambal rivers would be inter-linked to serve regional water
needs of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Over Phase 4, a number of west-flowing rivers in the
Western Ghats, would be inter-linked for irrigation purposes to east flowing rivers such as Cauvery
and Krishna. The 800-km long Mahanadi-Godavari interlinking project would link River Sankosh
originating from Bhutan to the Godavari in Andhra Pradesh through rivers like Teesta-Mahananda-
Subarnarekha and Mahanadi. The inter-links under consideration for Peninsular component are as
follows, with respective status of feasibility studies:

AlmattiPennar Link (Feasibility study complete)(Part 1)

BedtiVarada Link (Part 4)
DamangangaPinjal Link (Feasibility study complete) (Part 2)
InchampalliNagarjunasagar Link (Halted construction by Telangana) (Part 1)
InchampalliPulichintala Link (Feasibility study complete) (Part 1)
KattalaiVaigaiGundar Link (Feasibility study complete) (Part 4)
KenBetwa Link (Feasibility study complete) (Part 3)
MahanadiGodavari Link (Feasibility study complete) (Part 1)
NagarjunasagarSomasila Link (construction to be started soon) (Part 1)
NetravatiHemavati Link (Part 4)
PambaAnchankovilVaippar Link (Feasibility study complete) (Part 4)
ParTapiNarmada Link (Feasibility study complete) (Part 2)
ParbatiKalisindhChambal Link (Feasibility study complete) (Part 3)

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 PolavaramVijayawada Link (link canal constructed and partly in use with Pattiseema lift)
(Part 1)
SomasilaGrand Anicut Link (Feasibility study complete) (Part 1)
SrisailamPennar Link (link canals constructed and in use) (Part 1)

Intra-state inter-linking of rivers

India approved and commissioned NDWA in June 2005 to identify and complete feasibility studies of
intra-State projects that would inter-link rivers within that state. The Governments of Nagaland,
Meghalaya, Kerala, Punjab, Delhi, Sikkim, Haryana, Union Territories of Puducherry, Andaman &
Nicobar islands, Daman & Diu and Lakshadweep responded that they have no intrastate river
connecting proposals. Govt. of Puducherry proposed Pennaiyar Sankarabarani link (even though it
is not an intrastate project). The States Government of Bihar proposed 6 inter-linking projects,
Maharashtra 20 projects, Gujarat 1 project, Orissa 3 projects, Rajasthan 2 projects, Jharkhand 3
projects and Tamil Nadu proposed 1 inter-linking proposal between rivers inside their respective
territories.[27] Since 2005, NDWA completed feasibility studies on the projects, found 1 project
infeasible, 20 projects as feasible, 1 project was withdrawn by Government of Maharashtra, and
others are still under study.

International comparisons
The Indian Rivers Inter-link project is similar in scope and technical challenges as other major global
river inter-link projects, such as:

1. RhineMainDanube Canal completed in 1992, and also called the Europa Canal, it inter-links
the Main river to the Danube river, thus connecting North Sea and Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea. It
provides a navigable artery between the Rhine delta at Rotterdam in the Netherlands to the Danube
Delta in eastern Romania.[29] It is 171 km long, has the summit altitude (between the Hilpoltstein and
Bachhausen locks) is 406 m above sea level, the highest point on Earth reachable by ships from the
sea. In 2010, the inter-link provided navigation for 5.2 million tonnes of goods, mostly food,
agriculture, ores and fertilizers, reducing the need for 250,000 truck trips per year.[30] The canal is
also a source for irrigation, industrial water and power generation plants.[31]

2. Illinois Waterway system consists of 541 kilometers of interlink that connects a system of rivers,
lakes, and canals to provide a shipping connection from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico via the
Mississippi River. It provides a navigation route; primary cargoes are coal to powerplants, chemicals
and petroleum upstream, and agriculture produce downstream primarily for export.[32] The Illinois
waterway is the principal source of industrial and municipal services water needs along its way; it
serves the petroleum refining, pulp and paper processing, metal works, fermentation and distillation,
and agricultural products industries.[33]

3. TennesseeTombigbee Waterway is a 377 kilometer man-made waterway that interlinks the

Tennessee River to the Black Warrior-Tombigbee River in the United States.[34] The Tennessee
Tombigbee Waterway links major coal producing regions to coal consuming regions, and serves as
commercial navigation for coal and timber products. Industries that utilize these natural resources
have found the Waterway to be their most cost-efficient mode of transportation.[35] The water from
the Tenn-Tom Waterway is a major source of industrial water supply, public drinking water supply,
and irrigation along its way.

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4. Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, completed in 1949, interlinks 8 rivers, and is located along the Gulf
Coast of the United States. It is a navigable inland waterway running approximately 1700 kilometers
from Florida to Texas.[37] It is the third busiest waterway in the United States, handling 70 million
tonnes of cargo per year,[38] and a major low cost, ecologically friendly and low carbon footprint
way to import, export and transport raw materials and products for industrial, chemical and
petrochemical industries in the United States. It has also become a significant source for fishing
industry as well as for harvesting and shipping shellfish along the coast line of the United States.
Other completed rivers inter-linking projects include the Marne-Rhine Canal in France, the All-
American Canal and California State Water Project in the United States, SouthNorth Water Transfer
Project in China, etc.

Ecological and environmental issues

Some activists and scholars have, between 2002 and 2008, questioned the merits of Indian rivers
inter-link projects, and questioned if appropriate study of benefits and risks to environment and
ecology has been completed so far. Bandyopadhyay et al. claim there are knowledge gaps between the
claimed benefits and potential threats from environment and ecological impact.[2] They also question
whether the inter-linking project will deliver the benefits of flood control. Vaidyanathan claimed, in
2003, that there are uncertainty and unknowns about operations, how much water will be shifted and
when, whether this may cause waterlogging, salinisation and the resulting desertification in the
command areas of these projects. Other scholars have asked whether there are other technologies to
address the cycle of droughts and flood havocs, with less uncertainties about potential environmental
and ecological impact.

Displacement of people and fisheries profession

Water storage and distributed reservoirs are likely to displace people a rehabilitation process that
has attracted concern of sociologists and political groups. Further, the inter-link would create a path
for aquatic ecosystems to migrate from one river to another, which in turn may affect the livelihoods
of people who rely on fishery as their income. Lakra et al., in their 2011 study, claim[57] large dams,
interbasin transfers and water withdrawal from rivers is likely to have negative as well as positive
impacts on freshwater aquatic ecosystem. As regards to the impact on fish and aquatic biodiversity,
there could be positive as well as negative impacts.

Poverty and population issues

India has a growing population, and large impoverished rural population that relies on monsoon-
irrigated agriculture. Weather uncertainties, and potential climate change induced weather volatilities,
raise concerns of social stability and impact of floods and droughts on rural poverty. The population
of India is expected to grow further at a decelerating pace and stabilize around 1.5 billion by 2050, or
another 300 million people the size of United States compared to the 2011 census. This will
increase demand for reliable sources of food and improved agriculture yields both of which, claims
India's National Council of Applied Economic Research,[4] require significantly improve irrigation
network than the current state. The average rainfall in India is about 4,000 billion cubic metre, of
which annual surface water flow in India is estimated at 1,869 billion cubic metre. Of this, for
topological and other reasons, only about 690 billion cubic metre of the available surface water can be
utilised for irrigation, industrial, drinking and ground water replenishment purposes. In other words,
about 1,100 billion cubic metre of water is available, on average, every year for irrigation in India.[4]
This amount of water is adequate for irrigating 140 million hectares. As of 2007, about 60% of this
potential was realized through irrigation network or natural flow of Indian rivers, lakes and adoption
of pumps to pull ground water for irrigation.

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80% of the water India receives through its annual rains and surface water flow, happens over a 4-
month period June through September. This spatial and time variance in availability of natural water
versus year round demand for irrigation, drinking and industrial water creates a demand-supply gap,
that only worsens with India's rising population. Proponents claim the answers to India's water
problem is to conserve the abundant monsoon water bounty, store it in reservoirs, and use this water
in areas which have occasional inadequate rainfall, or are known to be drought-prone or in those times
of the year when water supplies become scarce.

International issues
Misra et al. in their 2007 report, claim inter-linking of rivers initially appears to be a costly
proposition in ecological, geological, hydrological and economical terms, in the long run the net
benefits coming from it will far outweigh these costs or losses. However, they suggest that there is a
lack of an international legal framework for the projects India is proposing. In at least some inter-link
projects, neighboring countries such as Bangladesh may be affected, and international concerns for
the project must be negotiated.

Political views
BJP-led NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee had propagated the idea of interlinking of rivers to
deal with the problem of drought and floods afflicting different parts of the country at the same time.
The Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi said in 2009 that the entire idea of interlinking of rivers
was dangerous and that he was opposed to interlinking of rivers as it would have "severe"
environmental implications. BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy suggested that Gandhi should do some
research on the interlinking of rivers and its benefits and then arrive at a conclusion. Jairam Ramesh, a
cabinet minister in former UPA government, said the idea of interlinking India's rivers was a
"disaster", putting a question mark on the future of the ambitious project.

Karunanidhi, whose DMK has been a key ally of the Congress-led UPA at the Centre, wrote that
linking rivers at the national level perhaps is the only permanent solution to the water scarcity
problem in the country. Karunanidhi said the government should make an assessment of the
project's feasibility starting with the south-bound rivers. DMK for 2014 general elections added
Nationalisation and inter-linking of rivers to its manifesto.

Kalpasar Project is an irrigation project which envisages storing Narmada River water in an off-shore
fresh water reservoir located in Gulf of Khambhat sea for further pumping to arid Sourashtra region
for irrigation use. It is one of the preferred project for implementation by the newly elected Prime
Minister of India, Narendra Modi.

Progress
On 16 September 2015, first linking was completed of rivers Krishna and Godavari. It is still under
review.

Padma Bridge - The new life line of development

The Padma Bridge is a multipurpose road rail bridge across the Padma River to be constructed in
Bangladesh. It will connect Louhajong, Munshiganj to Shariatpur and Madaripur, linking the south-
west of the country, to northern and eastern regions. Padma bridge is the most challenging
construction project in the history of BD. With 150m span & 6150m total length it is going to be the

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largest bridge in the Ganges- Brahmaputra - Meghna river basins of country in terms of both span and
the total length. The project covers 3 districts - Munshiganj( Mawa point / north bank), Shariatpur and
Madaripur( Janjira/south bank). It has considerable geo- morphological challenges due to mice
content present in the subsoil. Scour depth of the river system is another big issue. The number piles
has been optimised considering the scour depth at the bridge location and also make the bridge
earthquake resistant. In the southern region the Padma bridge will provide enough rail networks.
There will be connecting railways on both sides of the bridge. The existing Dhaka - Mawa two lane
road needs to be expanded further at the large stage of the project. The bridge has toll plazas &
service area on both sides. The transportation mode in the bridge has been conceived in a broad
context. There will be rail lines, roads, high pressure gas transmission line & fiber optic
communication link in the bridge that will make it a multimodal combination. It will be a great boost
for the development of our agriculture & industry in.the area. After completion of the bridge, it will
take only one & half hours to reach Dhaka. So our farmers will be able to directly send their
perishable products to the capital without suffering & wastage. It will also connect our second most
important port at Mongla & industrial zone in Khulna. Padma bridge will provide connectivity to
Asian Highway & trans - Asian railway. The bridge will also connect the Payra port. It will also help
decentralize the government administration. On the other hand, according to economists, the Bridge
will add 1.66% growth to our GDP. We will be able to bring a dramatic change in the life of the poor
people of the region within next ten years. The another aspect, many industries are eager to invest in
the area. It will also create an opportunity for developing tourism business in that area. Nevertheless,
the end of 2018 to serve as gateway between the capital city Dhaka & 21 south- western districts, is
changing people's mindset with hopes for rapid & vast socio- economic developments. That's why, we
need a local expert team for monitoring this large & complex project so that if any challenge arises we
can address it immediately. - Kamelia Yeasmin

Banking as a

Counting other's money, keeping its record, en-cashing cheques and drafts cannot be an interesting
work, someone may say cynically. There cannot be personal involvement and originality in doing
such a work, others may think. They may consider bank employees to be computers, adding and
subtracting all the time. But this is decidedly a better career.
Bank employees develop the habit of saving something for their difficult times. When they find that
the bank balances of petty shop-keepers are swelling up, they feel the urge to save some amount of
money. This implies that they start spending with extra-caution. They try to get the maximum return
from every penny they spend.

They develop social contacts with a number of businessmen. Some may say that all the public dealing
organizations widen the social circle. But in other offices you may have favor them by doing some
work which may be illegal. In the case banks if a cheque is cleared as soon it is received the person is
quite satisfied. These contacts help in a number of ways.

By working in a bank one becomes quite cautious and scientific in doing one's work. The scientist's
accuracy needed for marking entries become the bent of one's mind. Accurate working qualifies a
person for a better life. It is the slipshod work and haphazard approach that become hurdles in one's
progress.

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In banks the work is almost independent. Even officers have not to interfere in the work of their
subordinates. That is why there is not much of bossism in banks. The atmosphere quite cordial and it
becomes homely as soon as the public dealings come to an end.

Banking Career has a huge prospect now a days in a developing country like Bangladesh. A number
of Banks are there both in Government and Private sectors which facilitate the young generation to
come forward and work for them to increase the development rate of Bangladesh. The rapid growth of
economics in this country is encouraging a lot of youth souls to get engaged in this sector.

Above all a career in the banks is quite promising. As compared with other departments a person can
have quicker promotion in the banks. Banks make us materialistic in outlook, which may be
denounced by the spiritualists and other's but which is a fact of the modern life. One can find thrill
even in the most dull and uninteresting work. If Galileo can be thrilled by looking at the stars why not
a bank employee by finding a mistake in the entries, Life yield charm if we respond to it favorably.
Building career in Banking sector is not that difficult but you must have the determination and
devotion to this profession. The job is hard and laborious but the outcome is really worthy.

Recent Achievements of Bangladesh

Its a good time to be alive while history is being written. As we bid adieu to 2015 we realise the year
was a roller coaster ride! It was a year of aggression and violence that carved the world for many new
beginnings. Even though it was the year that witnessed the rise and aggression of Islamic State,
thousands of Syrians fleeing their home for asylum and the atrocities of the Asian migrant crisis, it
was also a year that made history for the right reasons as well.

For Bangladesh, 2015 was an eventful year that kept reporters on the tip of their feet. Let us take a
stroll and reminisce the achievements of the past year in various arenas that molded the nation to take
on 2016.

SPORTS
Bangladesh National Cricket Team : It was the year of the Tigers. With a World Cup quarterfinal
appearance, series wins over Pakistan, India and South Africa, and the unearthing of a bowling gem-
Mustafizur Rahman, this was a great year for Bangladesh cricket.

The ODI series against India created history. New boy Mustafizur took a five-for and a six-for in the
first two games of the series and launched his ODI career with a blast. The Indian batsmen looked
clueless against his variation of old-ball offcutters, and Bangladesh duly had their maiden ODI series
win against India, 2-1. Beating Pakistan and India had the emotional element of triumphing over
subcontinent rivals. The series win over South Africa, however, was much more significant because
of how poorly Bangladesh have played against them historically. All in all it has been a good
cricketing year for the Tigers!

Bangladesh on Seven Summits : Wasfia Nazreen became the first Bangladeshi to climb all seven
highest peaks in seven continents, also known as the Seven Summits on November 18. The
National Geographic adventurer reached the summit of Carstensz Pyramid, the highest mountain of
Oceania/Australasia, completing the challenge of scaling seven highest mountains around the world.

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With this, the 33-year-old mountaineer and a rights activist completed her campaign named
Bangladesh on Seven Summits and glorified Bangladeshs name in the history of mountain
climbing.

POLITICS
Land Boundary Agreement : After dillydallying for 41 years, the Indian Parliament finally passed
the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) Bill on May 7, 2015. The land accord was originally agreed in
1974 by Indira Gandhi of India and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh. The progress of this feat
slowed to a halt until India and Bangladesh signed the agreement on June 5.
To simplify their 4,000-km (2,500-mile) border and clarify the identities of 52,000 living in enclaves,
the neighbours tried to untangle the complex territorial rights set down in 1713 after four decades.

MDG and Champions of the Earth :

Bangladesh made significant progress in the MDGs. Goal 1, which is to reduce extreme poverty and
hunger, has seen a positive change so has Goal 2 (Achieve Universal Primary Education) and Goal 3
(Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women). Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina received UN's
highest environmental accolade Champions of the Earth in recognition of Bangladesh's far-
reaching initiatives to address climate change. The United Nations Environment Programme (Unep)
and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialised UN agency responsible for
issues on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), conferred the awards on the
Bangladesh PM during the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly recently.

According to the MDG declaration of 2000, Bangladesh has achieved majorly in reducing extreme
poverty, reducing prevalence of underweight children under 5 years, reducing under-5 children
mortality, increasing enrollment in primary schools, Increased ratio of girls to boys in primary and
secondary education, improved maternal health by the year of 2015.

The General Economics Division (GED) of the Planning Commission launched the report titled
MDGs: Bangladesh Progress Report 2015 on September 16 in the capital. Bangladesh also has been
declared as a role model for achieving the goals. Ajgar Ali

Extremism and the Bamboo Brigade

Of late we have seen pictures of the police handing over bamboo sticks to groups of people in various
districts ostensibly for the purpose of combating militancy and extremism in the country. The unique
step was motivated by the spate of targeted killings. The most recent of the bamboo distribution
ceremony happened in Jessore where the comments of the senior most police officer present there are
very interesting and merits quoting and scrutiny.

He excoriated some intellectually dishonest persons for criticising the so called Lathi-Bashi
Defence Party, initiative to create resistance in the wards and villages and fell back on history to
extol the virtues of the bambusa and its efficacy in driving the British and the Pakistanis out of the
country. Before going any further it is well for the sake of history to remind ourselves that it was not
bamboo that drove the Brits or the Pakistanis out of this country but much more than that.

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The reaction from any person with the slightest comprehension of extremism, terrorism or militancy
to any such move as a means of counteraction would be of dismay if not trepidation. One may be
forgiven for conjuring up in one's mind the spectre of vigilante groups that were formed in various
countries to stave off political or ideological opponents. The JMB is perhaps a close comparison when
a religious group was sponsored to go after the leftists in some parts of the country with the
connivance of the administration. Of course that was done rather clandestinely with a partisan
political objective in mind. In this particular case the intention of the police is pious, the object
appropriate, but the means appears to be rather mislaid. Everyone has the right to self defense and this
may provide some comfort individually but one is doubtful whether that will effectively combat the
killers.

The current initiative, apart from exposing the inability of the system to cope with a particular
situation, leaves many unanswered questions. How will those armed with sticks operate, as a group or
an individual? Who is in charge of the group? Will the sticks be carried on person at all times? Will
they be working singly or in groups, and if both in day and night? Remember all the killings in 2016
were carried out in broad daylight, many of them in a public place.

Regrettably, the police has made the cardinal misjudgment of looking at the phenomenon that the
country is facing as merely a law and order issue. The Lathi-Bashi Defence Party, as the initiative
has been described, may protect against criminals but will that be able to effectively combat the
violent radicals whose acts may appear criminal but who, unlike the criminals, are driven by religious-
political motives. This is where a deeper understanding of the threat is required by the security
agencies, particularly the police who remain at the forefront of the country's fight against extremism
and terrorism.

There is need to understand the reasons why the phenomenon has appeared and what the ultimate
motive of this group is. And are the killings a tactic only or that is the broad strategy, given that
terrorism and violence can both be a tactic and strategy of a non-state actor in its bid to attain a
political objective. Not all violence constitutes terrorism though all terror groups resort to violence.
Without a rational analysis of the situation the counter actions will be flawed and ineffective.
What kind of template should one put the current killings into. Are these the acts of extremist group(s)
with the ideological motivation to go after those, particularly their coreligionists, who they believe do
not conform to their way of thinking, without any illusion to power? The only aim is to curb
expression of differing views of religion through fear and intimidation if not compelling the detractors
to fall in line with them. But if that is the case then how does one explain the fact that none of the
Hindu, Christian or Buddhist victims of the recent attacks is known to have ever expressed anything
derogatory of other religions, leave alone Islam.

Another view is that the killings are spurred by the current state of politics where the political space
for the opposition has shrunk. Thus these acts are motivated entirely by political considerations. The
purpose is to embarrass and destabilise the government by showing it up as being incapable of
providing security to the common man, and by targeting the minority communities elicit international
attention as has been so palpable in the comments of our friends. The objective is to precipitate a
situation that would compel a change in the country's political dispensation that may prove favourable
to the interest of this group.

But whatever may be the motivations, organising people armed with bamboo sticks is not a response
that alone would be able to combat the perpetrators effectively.

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 Cross-Fire in Bangladesh

Introduction:
If you want to know the dictionary meaning of the word "Cross-fire", the meaning may be "Crossfire
is gunfire, for example in a battle, that comes from two or more different directions and passes
through the same area". Whatever may be the meaning in the sense of dictionary if you ask any
neutral Bangladeshi about the meaning of cross fire, he/she will say this is an extra-judicial killing
committed by the law-enforcing agencies in Bangladesh to the so-called grievous offenders. Actually
this is the invisible super power of the law-enforcing agencies in Bangladesh by which they give the
judgment of death penalty to grievous offenders denying the existence of the Court of law.
The practice of cross-fire is not the traditional practice in Bangladesh. But this practice has been
regularly started before some years after forming special law-enforcing force in Bangladesh.
Sometimes it is used for political purpose. The activists of opposition party basically become the
victim of crossfire rather than grievous offenders. However this practice is the indirectly making
hindrance for the opposition party in Bangladesh in order to hamper the practice of democracy.

Looking the excessive practice of cross-fire the state-established "National Human Rights
Commission" has been bound to request the government to investigate the extra-judicial killings. Not
only the grievous offenders are being brutally killed by cross-fire sometimes some innocent persons
even the students have been the victim of crossfire. In Bangladesh no investigation can see the light of
success against the law-enforcing agencies.

Purpose of cross-fire:
Actually the practice of cross-fire has become the political culture in Bangladesh and it is the great
shelter of government to stay in power safely denying the access of democracy. However this is the
good news that now days the government is being cautious about the decision of crossfire but still it is
not fully stopped. However the people of Bangladesh expect that the government will secure their life,
property not will kill them extra-judicially and after killing provide nice news to the media that
"during the operation of rescuing arms and ammunition taking with accused person, the companions
of the accused person attacked the law-enforcing agencies and the accused person had been killed in
encounter." This is the common news provided by the law-enforcing agencies after cross-fire. Such
type of attractive fake excuses have already been memorized by the people of Bangladesh even by the
school-going children.

Recent scenario:
As many as 101 people were killed in 'shootout' of the members of law enforcers or in their custody in
the past six months, according to local human rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK).
In a half-yearly report, ASK said twenty nine (29) people were abducted during the period by the
people who identified them as law enforcers. Bodies of four of them were recovered later and one has
returned while one was shown to be arrested.

The ASK report quoted statements by family members, witnesses, and colleagues and said twenty two
(22) people were killed in the 'crossfire' by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), 40 by the police, one
jointly by RAB and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), one by Ansar, seven by Detective Branch of
police and one by joint forces.

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Four more were killed allegedly in torture by the police, one by DB police, one by RAB and another
one by BGB. Fourteen (14) people were killed in police shooting and another was killed in the
shooting by DB police.

In the six months, three people committed suicide while in police custody, two died of cardiac arrest,
also in police custody, and one died in RAB custody. Thirty four (34) people died in jail during the
period.

One person was killed under the wheel of train said the report which referred to family members who
claimed that he was thrown under the wheel of train.

Along the Bangladesh-India border, 15 were killed in the shooting by India's Border Security Force
(BSF) personnel, eight succumbed to their injuries caused by tortures and 38 sustained injuries. Forty
nine (49) Bangladeshis were abducted from the bordering areas [either by Indians or BSF], said the
report. Of the abducted, 22 were returned through the mediation by the BGB.

Key recommendations:
1. The Bangladeshi government should take all necessary measures to end the law-enforcing agencies
involvement in extrajudicial killings, torture and other human rights violations. It should ensure that
all allegations of human rights violation by the law-enforcing agencies are thoroughly investigated
and prosecute all those responsible, regardless of rank or position.

2. In the meantime, the Bangladeshi government should establish an independent commission to

assess the law-enforcing agency's performance, identify those responsible for serious violations such
as extrajudicial killings, including those at the highest level and ensure that those personnel are
excluded from the agencies.

3. Foreign government and international organizations should refuse to work with the law-enforcing
agency in law enforcement or counter-terror operations until the agencies ceases its use of torture and
extrajudicial executions, promotes transparency and pursues accountability for violations of human
rights.

Conclusion:
The people of Bangladesh want the establishment of rule of law in Bangladesh. Whereas the
separation of judiciary has been done a few years ago but the government has to stop all types of
interference in the work of judiciary. The government of Bangladesh has to be more sincere regarding
the public security and has to stop all extra-judicial killings. In case of any unlawful activities of the
law-enforcing agencies the government has to investigate the affairs attentively. However, we want a
Bangladesh as well as a world where the rights of the people will be established and no Human Rights
violation will be existed.

Aftermath of Brexit : Impact on BD's Economy

Preamble:
EU is the Bangladeshs largest export market and the UK is the third largest export destination after
the US and Germany, and the second largest in Europe. Bangladesh exported goods worth $3.23

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billion to the UK in 2014-15, registering a 21.28 percent growth from the previous year, according to
the Export Promotion Bureau. Garments make up nearly 90 percent of the export figure.

In the first 11 months of the fiscal year, Bangladesh's export to the UK rose to over $3.4 billion.
According to an Export Promotion Bureau data, out of a $3.4 billion exports to the UK market, RMG
sector alone contributed $3.18 billion to the overall exports in the first 11 months of the current fiscal
year.

Among western economies, the UK is the second biggest source of remittance for Bangladesh after
the US. Migrant workers living in the UK send $1 billion in remittance every year, contributing
greatly to Bangladesh's remittance income of more than $15 billion.
Brexit:
The recent UK-EU membership referendum is known as Brexit. It is defined as the overall vote for
UK to leave the EU as opposed to remaining an EU member. While European leaders dreamt of an
intertwined economy across Europe 43 years ago, the British people desired something else. They
wanted their country to be exclusively theirs and not be shared by outsiders. Brexit shows that
conservatism prevails strongly deep in the hearts of people even in richer, more developed countries.
They do not want others to share their privileges, their benefits and their rights. Hence, they gave their
verdict to retain the sole possession of their country by choosing to exit Europe on June 23, 2016. The
votes have been counted on , and the decision is in: The United Kingdom will leave the European
Union.

I p c of x o Eco o y:
The potential fallout of Brexit will be felt by Bangladesh in a number of areas including loss of duty
benefits, remittance inflow, export earnings and immigration.

1) Loss of Duty Benefits:

The first blow that may hit Bangladesh as a result of the Brexit is the loss of duty benefits amounting
to over USD 3 billion. Departure from EU by the UK may lead to the departure of Bangladesh from
duty benefits on the export to UK that was inexistent when UK was part of the EU. In the present
times, Bangladesh enjoys 12.5 percent duty benefit which results into zero duty on export to EU bloc.
The UK was part of the bloc and now its not which means a risk of increasing duty on export to the
UK. On the other hand, the UK is the third largest export destination for Bangladesh and such loss is
quite significant for the country. This might lead to a shift of products exporting to the UK to other
countries where the costs will be lower.

2) Remittance Inflow:
The remittance income may see a downfall that has been generating from the UK for Bangladesh till
date. Out of the total remittance income of more than USD 15 billion, migrant workers of UK from
Bangladesh contributed USD 1 billion. This is the second largest contributing countries in remittance
for Bangladesh. In the recent outbreak the pound has experienced a diminished value and hence the
risk of more downfall exist which will lead to a lower number of remittance. Because of the plunge in
the pound, migrant workers and non-resident Bangladeshis may postpone sending money back home
until the currency revives.

3) Export Earning:
The export issue is more concerning than anything for Bangladesh. Bangladesh exported USD 3.23
billion worth of products in the year 2014-15 which registered 21.28 percent growth in export to the

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UK from the previous year. Such growth may face a setback due to the Brexit as more costs will be
assigned to exported products with the absence of duty-free benefits. Among the exported goods to
the UK, 90 percent is covered by readymade garments. It concludes that RMG industry of Bangladesh
will be more affected than any other industry. This industry may look for some different pathways to
tackle the risks.

4) Immigration Issue:
Brexit is said to have been influenced mainly by the migration issue. The British people, particularly
the older generation, felt threatened by the flow of migrants into their country and taking a part of
their jobs, health services and other facilities. Taking cues from this, the British immigration regime
may become stricter resulting in less Bangladeshis getting immigration visa. If the size of the British
economy does not expand enough, immigration may continue to be tougher. Bangladeshi job seekers
will find it more difficult to get jobs in the UK.

Conclusion:
Since UK left the EU, Bangladesh now will have to renegotiate trade agreement with the UK after
two years, since the decision of leaving the EU will come into effect after 2018 only. Bangladesh
needs to bring itself into a new negotiation with the UK to continue the duty benefit Bangladesh has
been enjoying for some time. Otherwise, it will be a challenge for Bangladesh to continue the growth
in exports. Government should immediately take into account the possible consequences and
precautionary measures to deal with the changing development initiating focused bilateral discussion
with foreign office of UK and UKTI to find alternative way-outs and avoid unforeseen economic
menace. It is also needed to form a national committee comprising of trade bodies, trade expert,
international trade law practitioner, economist, researcher, and representative from concerned
ministries and agencies to observe and report findings to the government on post BREXIT global
economic order.

Threat of cyber security in Bangladesh

Bangladesh banking sector is under the threat of cyber security risks, IT experts warn, as the security
policy of Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of the country is inadequate and inefficient to face the
growing sophisticated attacks of new generation hackers.

Hackers are more intelligent than many other system installers so to protect sites from the hacking it is
imperative to install systems by the genuine and skilled companies. But in baking system, the IT
security issues remained the sideline of the agendas of banks and financial institutions", experts say.
The experts' warning has come after suspected Chinese hackers stole the money almost $100 million
from the nesto account of Bangladesh Bank with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York last week.
The central bank, however, recovered a part of money leaving a question about its IT security
measures.

"It's a result of inadequate security measures of the central bank or internal breach as the hackers not
only hit the server but has broken the different levels of security to steal money, which is not possible
without compromise of security passwords", said an IT security expert on condition on anonymity.

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The central bank was hacked by Mr.D3m0n after hacking two universities database i.e Mumbai
University and MIT university Mr.D3m0n targeted Central Bank of Bangladesh. Bangladesh's central
bank has around $28bn in foreign currency reserve.

"Hacking any website is a common cyber crime, but stealing money from account of a central bank is
not a matter of joke. It's a reflection of weakness in security measures of the central bank, which has
raised the concerns about the cyber security of the whole banking system", he told The Daily
Observer.

"The hackers always like to be a Grey Hat hacker and like to help the admin of site by reporting the
vulnerability. But the BB admin failed to respond and patch the security flaw. This proves that the
central bank is quite inefficient to address any IT security breach or compromise with the hackers",
said another IT security expert working in a private IT company.
The central bank officials were not available to comment on this issue today. A recent study on the IT
security issues pointed out that cyber attacks could emerge as a major threat to the digital
transformation of Bangladesh given the poor knowledge and lack of government initiatives to counter
the growing problem.

The central bank officials said they are in contact with the anti-money laundering authorities of the
Philippines to track down and bring back rest of the money. Philippine authorities have frozen the
recovered money following court orders.

With the growing use of mobile phones and internet, Bangladesh is ever more vulnerable to cyber
attacks, said Burgess Cooper, a partner at Ernst & Young, a global professional services firm
headquartered in London.

Cyber criminals can gain access to financial data, compromise intellectual property of companies, tap
sensitive national data and steal government records. "These actions could compromise national
security and interests," he said at recent a discussion on the future of cyber security held in the city.
IT experts believe that about 90 percent of cyber crimes stay unreported. In case of Bangladesh, the
situation is getting worsening day by day.

The banking sector witnessed high-profile security breaches over the last few years. In 2015, bank
accounts of a private bank were compromised and money withdrawn from them, while the websites of
Bangladesh Police and Rapid Action Battalion were hacked this year.

On December 2, 2015, Hackers broke into the website of Sonali Bank on Tuesday and took control of
it for a few hours. The hacker identified himself as a 'Muslim Hacker'. On January 06, 2013, Islami
Bank Bangladesh website was hacked by Human Mind Cracker hacked.

Facts of hacking to commercial banks indicates corruption in the government's procurement system
where incompetent and unskilled vendors were awarded jobs without assessing the real quality, an
information technology expert said.

In 2012, at least 26 government websites were hacked, and in 2013, a private university's website
became a victim. There was at least one serious vulnerability at 84 percent of the websites in 2013-14.

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The country has struggled to cope with the implementation of its cyber-crime laws despite setting up a
fast-track court for speedy trials in 2013 and allowing law-enforcers to arrest individuals without a
warrant.

While such legal mechanisms are being developed, It experts say companies in Bangladesh will need
to increase investments to safeguard themselves against cyber attacks, as the damage caused could be
heavy, Ernst & Young said in a report.

The Ernst & Young report recommended enactment of appropriate cyber laws, which are
indispensable to legalise and regulate the internet in the country. It also called for raising awareness
among the users, realigning local regulations and practices with foreign countries and ensuring
telecommunications and IT equipment procured is free from potential threats or bugs.

Experts say a good number of local firms have installed systems to private commercial banks and
some other financial institutions though a transparent process and they are working well with strong
protecting shield. If the government's procurement systems deploy the real local IT entrepreneurs
without corruptions, it would provide the world standard services at competitive costs.

Bangladesh's Aspiration to be a Middle Income Country

Bangladesh is going to cross the first phase of development. The second phase of development will be
started. The second phase of development will end after implementing the vision 2021 which would
transform Bangladesh into a middle income country.73% of people lived below the poverty line in
1970.But in the recently published report of World Bank, it has been declared that Bangladesh has
transformed into lower middle income country from the status of lower income country. According to
the "Economic Review 2015" letting 2005-06 as base year, the real per capital GNI (Gross National
Income) is 1314 USD from this statistics, World Bank announces Bangladesh including Tajikistan,
Myanmar and Kenya as lower middle income country.

The growth rate of export in the current financial year has been increased rapidly. The destination of
76% of the total exports goes to USA and Europe. As markets of these two destinations are getting
hale and hearty, the demand of Bangladeshi products is also soaring up. Besides new destinations of
our apparel products are also creating huge possibilities. In this time the value of money is
strengthening against dollars as the foreign currency reserve surpassing 25 billion which is also
milestone in the history of Bangladesh.

Now Bangladesh is following the seven fifth year plan which emphasized on reducing income
discrimination and regional disparity. Under this fifth year plan, the General Economic Division
(GED) is working to formulate a concept paper which includes electricity, fuel and human
development resources. These are all factors working hard to achieve the status of middle income
country.

To achieve the status of the middle income country, one country needs to allocate a huge amount of
budget for the Annual Development Programme (ADP) as plans solely cannot lead the country to
attain such status. According to the Economic Review 2015' of Bangladesh government in the 45th
national budget, the finance ministry allocated 97000 cores taka for the ADP which is 5.65% of GDP.

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To strengthen the development path of a country foreign direct investment is a driving force. FDI
accelerates the employment creating huge scopes for unemployed people. It also directs country in a
smooth way as there's need a big infrastructure rural development. To attract FDI, sufficient gas and
electricity, water supply is must, the communication system is also crucial. If one country meets these
requirements, then foreign investors come to invest in one country. Finally the country turns into a
developing country. The amount of FDI is going up.

Only before three decades, Bangladesh's development remained in stagnant. Half of the total people
were in great hardship as there was meager employment opportunity. But after 1980s, Bangladeshi
economy had been evolving very swiftly on account of apparel sector. About I crore people directly
works in this sector and most of them are female. These worker's untiring effort to make the country
developed cannot be vain.

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