Global Voices » Rezwan

Bangladesh's Planned Coal Power Plant Threatens Sundarbans Mangrove Forest

Rezwan — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:07:55 +0000

A plan to erect a coal-fired power plant in Bangladesh next to the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world which straddles Bangladesh and India, is drawing fire from activists in the country who say it would destroy the world heritage site.

The proposed 1320-megawatt plant, to be built in the area of Rampal in the southern Bagerhat district, was initially put into motion in a bilateral agreement between Bangladesh and India during the Bangladeshi prime minister's tour of India in 2011 before an environmental impact assessment was conducted by Bangladesh's Environment Ministry.

On 20 April, 2013, the Power Development Board of Bangladesh signed [bn] three agreements with India's National Thermal Power Corporation, which made the implementation official. The project, estimated to cost 1.6 billion US dollars, is expected to be completed by 2018.

When the government finally released an environmental impact assessment (download in PDF from here) on the power plant, environmentalists rejected it in a consultative meeting, organized by the Power Division on April 12, arguing that the report did not take into consideration most of the important environmental aspects of the Sundarbans, its ecology, flora, and fauna as well as a large number of local people.

Moreover, the report stated that (page 208) once the proposed site was a part of Sundarbans, but had been evacuated by the settlers later.

Bangladesh's energy infrastructure is known to be quite small, insufficient and poorly managed. Only 40% of the population has access to electricity with a per capita availability of 136 kWh per Annum. So there is a huge pressure on the Government to meet the growing demands of electricity.

The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports urged citizens of both India and Bangladesh to carry out concentrated efforts to stop the power plant on its website.

Environment experts, social workers, and citizens holding banners form a human chain in the capital Dhaka to demand that the Sundarbans, the world largest remaining mangrove forest, be saved. Image by Firoz Ahmed. Copyright Demotix (21/3/2013)

Abdullah Al Imran [bn] pointed out in a Facebook note that India is violating its own laws meant to protect wildlife with its involvement in this power plant:

১৩২০ মেগাওয়াট ক্ষমতার একটা বিদ্যুতকেন্দ্র গড়ে উঠবে বাগেরহাটের রামপালে যা কিনা সুন্দরবন থেকে মাত্র ১৪ কিলোমিটার দূরে। ভারতের ওয়াইল্ড লাইফ প্রটেকশন এ্যাক্ট ১৯৭২ অনুযায়ী বাঘ-হাতি সংরক্ষণ অঞ্চল,জাতীয় উদ্যান এবং জীব বৈচিত্র্যের জন্য গুরূত্বপূর্ণ বনাঞ্চলের১৫ কিলোমিটার ব্যাসার্ধের মধ্যে কোন বিদ্যুৎকেন্দ্র তৈরী করা যায় না।

An 1320 MW plant would be established in Rampal of Bagerhat which is only 14 kilometres away from the Sundarbans. According to the Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972, no such power plant should be established within 15 kilometers of a forest which is home to sanctuaries for tigers and elephants and wildlife.

Journalist Kallol Mustafa [bn] summarized on Facebook the environmental impact that the report foresees that the plant will have:

বিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্র নির্মাণের মালামাল ও যন্ত্রপাতি সুন্দরবনের ভেতর দিয়ে নদী পথে পরিবহন করা হবে। এর ফলে বাড়তি নৌযান চলাচল, তেল নি:সরণ, শব্দদূষণ, আলো, বর্জ্য নি:সরণ ইত্যাদি পরিবেশ আইন অনুসারে নিয়ন্ত্রণ না করা গেলে সুন্দরবনের ইকো সিস্টেম বিশেষ করে রয়েল বেঙ্গল টাইগার, হরিণ, ডলফিন, ম্যানগ্রোভ বন ইত্যাদির উপর ক্ষতিকর প্রভাব ফেলবে বলে ইআইএ রিপোর্টে আশংকা করা হয়েছে।

The building material and equipment for the plant would be transported on the river. So it is stated in the EIA report that the increase in transport of engine ships, oil spillage, noise, light and air pollution, etc. will have an adverse effect on Royal Bengal tigers, deer, dolphins, the mangrove forest and other ecosystems.

Engineer Md. Shahadat Hossain [bn] wrote on the Water Resource Engineers Forum blog:

প্রস্তাবিত রামপাল কয়লা বিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্রের ইআইএ রিপোর্টের এই সংক্ষিপ্ত পর্যালোচনা থেকে স্পষ্ট যে, [..] সুন্দরবনের পাশে ১৩২০ মেগাওয়াটের এই কয়লা বিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্রকে জায়েজ করার সর্বোচ্চ চেষ্টা করা স্বত্ত্বেও, এরপরও খোদ ইআইএ রিপোর্টে বিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্র নির্মাণ, পরিচালানা ও কয়লা পরিবহনের ফলে সুন্দরবনের উপর সম্ভাব্য ক্ষতিকর প্রভাব সম্পর্কে এমন সব তথ্য বেরিয়ে এসেছে যা প্রস্তাবিত কয়লা বিদ্যুৎ প্রকল্পকে পরিবেশগত বিবেচনায় অগ্রহণযোগ্য বিবেচনা করার জন্য যথেষ্ট।

Analysis of the EIA report for the proposed power plant reveals that the building, operation, and coal transport for the 1320 MW coal-based power plant in the Sundarbans would create an adverse effect on the Sundarbans mangrove forest in the coming years, suggesting that it should be scrapped on environmental grounds.

Fishermen prepare to fish before sunset near Karamjal Wildlife Breeding Centre in the East Sundarbans. Image by Firoz Ahmed. Copyright Demotix (26/11/2012)

On community blog Ishtishon, Mahbub Shumon questioned the wisdom of harming the Sundarbans when they protect Bangladesh from natural disasters:

প্রথমত – ঝড় ঝাপটা প্রাকৃতিক দুর্যোগ থেকে থেকে বুক পেতে বাংলাদেশ রক্ষাকারী এই বনের মধ্যে বা কাছা কাছি ক্ষতিকর দূরত্বে এমন কোন প্রকল্প করা উচিৎ কিনা যা জীব – বইচিত্রের আধার এবং প্রাকৃতিক ভারসাম্য রক্ষাকারী, সর্বোপরি দুর্যোগ থেকে রক্ষাকারী এই প্রাকৃতিক দেয়াল ধ্বংস করে দিবে? সচেতন মানুষ মাত্রেই একমত হবেন নাবোধক উত্তরে। এমন বিদ্যুৎ আমাদের দরকার নাই যে বিদ্যুতের জন্য আমাদের দেশটাই ধ্বংস হয়ে যাবে।

দ্বিতীয় জরুরী প্রশ্ন হল- অন্য কোথাও বিদ্যুৎ প্রকল্প করা হলেও আমরা কি কয়লা ভিত্তিক বিদ্যুৎ প্রকল্পের ক্ষতি সামাল দিতে পারব?

First of all, these mangrove forests save Bangladesh from natural disasters. So why would you put a project in the vicinity of this forest that will destroy its wildlife, its flora and fauna? Any concerned person would say no. We don't need such power which will destroy my country's ecosystem.

Secondly, even if the plant is shifted, will we be able to restrict the damaging effects of burning coal for the plant?

Blogger Banglar Hassan [bn] reminded his readers that a similar project had been turned down in Odisha, India as it failed to obtain environmental clearance.

Faisal Caser [bn] asked:

যে বিবেচনায় এনটিপিসি নিজের দেশে বিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্র নির্মাণ করতে পারেনি সেই একই বিবেচনায় বাংলাদেশে কী তাদের প্রকল্প বাতিল হতে পারে না?

The reason why NTPC could not build a power plant in its own country is not strong enough to stall their similar project in Bangladesh?

Facebook event to save Sundarbans. Image courtesy Omi Hasan.

Facebook events have been created to raise awareness of the planned plant. The dates of offline protests will be announced soon.

Indian Army is now on Facebook

Rezwan — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:52:12 +0000

Prasant Naidu at Lighthouse Insights reports that after a successful start on Twitter, the Indian Army has recently joined Facebook. This is a welcome move as last year the Indian Army had issued orders asking all personnel — both officers and other ranks — to stop using social networking sites like Facebook or Orkut.

No Women In Pubs In Andhra After 10 PM

Rezwan — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:46:32 +0000

Does the absence of women in public spaces makes these spaces safer for women?

The above comment is made by the blogger at The Life and Times of an Indian Homemaker, who is outraged by the decision of the government of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, to ban women from pubs after 10 pm claiming that it would keep them safe.

Online Journalism In Nepal To Be Regulated

Rezwan — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:35:19 +0000

Online journalism and news portals are gaining popularity in Nepal as evident in Surath Giri's list of 20 online newspapers. However, according to reports, the Ministry of Information and Communications of Nepal has recently formed a five-member committee to register, regulate and manage online news.

Pakistan Election Updates and Results Online

Rezwan — Sat, 11 May 2013 15:56:09 +0000

Mehwish khan at ProPakistani compiles a list of sites which are providing live updates and results of the Pakistan general elections 2013.

A Sad Story of a Nepali Migrant Worker

Rezwan — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:31:36 +0000

Ujjwal Acharya tells a sad story of a Nepali migrant worker who was denied to board onwards by Air Arabia at Delhi airport because she did not have a return ticket. They did not offer any food or accommodation for 72 hours until she managed her fare back home from that transit point. She is one of many migrant workers who are regularly exploited by different quarters.

Animal Cruelty In Kathmandu On The Rise

Rezwan — Sat, 04 May 2013 22:15:54 +0000

Siromani Dhungana at United We Blog! for a Democratic Nepal highlights rising cruelty to animals in the Nepali capital Kathmandu and questions how long it will continue.

Islamists Demand that Bangladesh's Women Stay at Home

Rezwan — Sat, 04 May 2013 22:06:32 +0000

Members of Hifazat-e Islam, a radical Islamist party in Bangladesh, attacked female journalists on assignment as the group marched in the country's capital to demand strict Islamic law, including a ban on free mixing of the sexes and punishment of “atheists and blasphemous bloggers”.

Hefazot Islam introduced their 13-point demand during the march on April 6, 2013 in Dhaka, which would enforce capital punishment for blasphemy, make Islamic education compulsory, and see the the end of “all alien cultural practices like immodesty, lewdness, misconduct, culture of free mixing of the sexes, candle lighting in the name of personal freedom and free speech.”

On 6th of April Hifazat-e Islam arranged a rally to demand action against ‘atheists and blasphemous bloggers’ of the Shahbagh’s Ganajagaran Mancha. Image by Suvra Kanti Das. Copyright Demotix (6/4/2013)

On the day of the long march, Hifazat-e Islam not only barred women from entering the event, but also physically and verbally harassed several female journalists on duty there. Numbers of Hifazat activists chased and physically assaulted Ekushey Television Reporter Nadia Sharmin at Bijoynagar on the path of the rally, and interrupted Financial Express Reporter Arafat Ara at Paltan, close to the event venue, when she was going to her office.

Memberse hurled brickbats and water bottles at Sharmin and she was thrown to ground and beaten. She was sent to the hospital for treatment and was released after three days.

Cases were filed against 60 people. This video uploaded to YouTube by ProfessorZiauddin shows Sharmin being attacked by a Hifazat mob:

An old woman collecting water bottles at the rally area was driven away on the pretext that “it is not a place for females”.

However, amid countrywide protest of the attacks on the journalists, which called for a boycott of news and broadcast of the news of the Islamists, representatives from Hifazat stated later that the group regretted the attack, saying “miscreants had carried out the attacks on scribes”.

Hefazot Islam activists attack journalist Nadia Sharmin as she covers their long march. Image courtesy Sanaullah Lablu.

So far, the Bangladeshi government has been soft on them and the prime minister has requested to postpone their planned protests in Dhaka scheduled for March 4 and 5, 2013 respectively taking into consideration the ongoing rescue operations for the Savar building collapse victims (see Global Voices Report).

The prime minister also mentioned that many of their 13 points have already been implemented or are under the process of being implemented. She also offered negotiations for other demands.

However, the party has promised to stage protests and disruptions into the long-term.

On May 5, 2013, the group plans to cut off Dhaka from the rest of the country by stationing its activists at all six entry points into the city terming the Prime Minister’s claim of addressing most of its 13-point demands as “devoid of merit”. The oppositions parties BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami are backing them.

Hefazot's anti-woman stance have earned strong condemnation from throughout Bangladesh, with a number of protests and rallies organizing against the group across the country.

Bangladesh is a secular democracy in which women have made significant strides. According to latest census data [bn], about half of Bangladesh's population of 152,518,015 are women. In education, women are progressing faster than men, with 89.19 percent of girls compared to 78.23 percent of boys passing the higher secondary school exam. And women are increasingly economically empowered, thanks to the garment industry in which 80 percent of employees are women.

Activists of Bangladesh group theater federation took a part of mach against Hifazat-e-Islam long march in the Dhaka. Image by Rehman Asad. Copyright Demotix (5/4/2013)

And the country's prime minister, leader of the opposition and ex-prime minister, and the newly appointed speaker of the parliament are women. Many consider Hifazat's oppressive regimen as a halt to the progress Bangladesh has made for women's rights.

On April 27, 2013 an alliance of 68 non-governmental organisations working for women's rights held a rally in Dhaka to speak out against the proposed subjugation of women. Sultana Kamal, a human rights activist, told reporters there:

The people are non-communal and religious tolerant. The nation cannot cave in to the muscle-flexing of a handful of fanatics.

Kazi Mamun Hossain wrote in community blog Somewhereinblog against the Hefazot wish to establish a Taliban-like state with women forced to stay at home inside in burqas:

হেফাজত তাদের ১৩ দফায় ধর্মের নামে নারীদের চার দেয়ালে বন্দী করতে চায়, চায় পোশাক শ্রমিক নারীদের মাধ্যমে দেশ যে বিদেশী মুদ্রা আয় করছে তা বন্ধ হোক, আমাদের মেয়েরা কাজ না করে স্বামীর পদতলে বাঁধা থাকুক। শিক্ষা ব্যবস্থাকে আধুনিক না করে আমাদেরকে অন্ধকারে বেঁধে রাখতে চায়। ধর্মের নামে আধুনিক বাংলাদেশকে তালেবান রাষ্ট্র বানাতে চায়।

Hefazot is trying to confine women inside four walls with their 13-point demand. They want to stop the flow of foreign currency by preventing women workers in the garments industry from doing their job. They want our women to stop earning and be submissive to their income-generating husbands. They want to restrict modernization of our education policy keeping ourself in darkness. They want to establish a Taliban-like state in the name of protecting religion.

On the same website, Nayakraj reiterated that this country is for everybody:

বাংলাদেশকে কোনক্রমেই তালিবান আফগান বানাতে দেয়া যাবে না। বাংলাদেশ কোনো কাঠমোল্লার দেশ না, এই দেশ নারী পুরুষ সবার।

We cannot let Bangladesh become a Taliban-like state like Afghanistan. Bangladesh is not a nation of fundamentalists. This country is for women and men – everybody.

Hefajat-e Islam protests continue and threatened the government of blocking Dhaka on May 5, 2013 if its 13 point demands, including a blasphemy law and execution of atheist bloggers for defaming Islam in Bangladesh capital. Image by Rehman Asad. Copyright Demotix (19/4/2013)

Blogger Himu wrote on community blog Sachalayatan that Bangladesh's women are too integral to the running of the country to remain inside and at home:

যে বাংলাদেশের কৃষি অচল নারীর অংশগ্রহণ ছাড়া, যে বাংলাদেশের শিল্প অচল নারীর শ্রম ছাড়া, যে বাংলাদেশের পরিবার অচল নারীর নি:শব্দ আত্মবিসর্জন ছাড়া, সে বাংলাদেশে মাথায় ফেট্টি বাঁধা কতগুলি উন্মাদের কথায় নারী অন্তরীণ হয়ে থাকবে?
কখনোই না।

The agriculture of Bangladesh is dependent on the women workforce, the industries are dependent on women. In Bangladesh, families are dependent on women's silent contribution in parenting and housekeeping. The women of Bangladesh will not be confined because some radicals with turbans on their head said so. Never.

Shariful Islam Rukun at community blog Amarblog questioned the group's understanding of Islam in light of its attack of female journalists at the march:

ইসলাম শান্তির ধর্ম। হেফাজতের যে সব কর্মীরা এ মহত্ (!) কাজে অংশ নিয়েছেন তারা কী জানাবেন, একজন মহিলাকে অর্ধশত পুরুষ মিলে এভাবে নির্দয়ভাবে পেটানোর অনুমতি ইসলামের কোথায় উল্লেখ আছে?

Islam is the religion of peace. Could the Hefazot members who participated in these holy (!) attacks tell where in Islam it is prescribed that a bunch of men should beat mercilessly an unarmed women?

Irteza (@irteza) asked on Twitter:

@ইরতেজা: সকল গণমাধ্যমকে উদাত্ত আহবান জানাচ্ছি, সাংবাদিক বোনদের ওপর অব্যাহত অত্যাচার নির্যাতনের প্রতিবাদে হেফাজতে ইসলামীর সকল সংবাদ বর্জন করুন।

@irteja: I am asking all journalists to boycott all news related to Hefazot Islam in media in protest of their attack on female journalists.

Bikkhipto Khitish (@projonmo106) wrote that the fundamentalists’ efforts were futile:

@প্রজন্ম১০৬: দু:খিত, হে ধর্মান্ধের দল, নারীকে ঘরে আটকে রাখার দিন এদেশে আর নেই, কোনোদিন আর আসবেও না। sachalayatan.com/dhusor_jolchobi/48746 #শাহবাগ

@projonmo106: Sorry dear fundamentalists, the days are over when we used to keep our women inside at home. Those days will not come back. sachalayatan.com/dhusor_jolchobi/48746#.UWW3Y3h_1Ns.twitter … #shahbag

Savar Tragedy: Where Humanity Shines Amidst Rubbles

Rezwan — Wed, 01 May 2013 23:25:35 +0000

On 24th of April, a nine storied building collapsed in Savar, in the outskirts of Bangladesh capital Dhaka, where thousands of workers were either killed or trapped (see Global Voices report). A long and difficult rescue operation has been going on ever since and more than 2834 workers have been rescued alive so far from the rubbles. The death toll has risen to 397 on Wednesday (May 1, 2013) and thousands of injured have been hospitalized. Authorities claim that 149 persons are still missing in the country’s worst ever industrial disaster.

More than a thousand rescuers from armed forces along with the firefighters and police were deployed. There had been criticism that the government rejected offers from foreign countries to aid rescue operations with modern tools and experts. However, they defended saying that they were confident that they could manage the crisis on their own and in quick times.

Volunteers inside the collapsed building trying to rescue trapped workers. Image by Rehman Asad. Copyright Demotix (24/4/2013)

Amidst the situation an extraordinary thing happened. Ordinary people came forward to volunteer to rescue the victims along with the professionals. Where the rescuers from armed forces didn't even dare to go these people were brave enough to go there. This article looks at some stories of those brave people.

Some were students, some street vendors, some brick masons, some were day laborers or housewives. They were very ordinary people. Neither did they have any training, nor they had participated in any drills, let alone being equipped with necessary rescue tools. But they took the brave steps – they went inside the rubbles to bring out thousands of injured and hundreds of dead garments workers.

Blogger Arif R Hossain was involved in the rescue efforts right from the start. He has seen everybody's participation from up close. He wrote in facebook about a simple housewife, who engaged in the rescue efforts with a kitchen gadget immediately after the collapse:

সর্বপ্রথম এগিয়ে এসেছিলেন লিটনের মা, খুন্তি নিয়ে…এমনভাবে দৌড়ে এসেছিলো যে পারলে তিনি তার হাতের খুন্তিটা দিয়েই সব ধসে পড়া ছাদগুলোকে আল্গি দিবে। কালকে ওখানে আমি দাঁড়িয়ে হঠাত্ শুনলাম, দমকলের এক কর্মীকে বলতে, “কেউ একটা ডাইলের চামচ দেন আমাকে… নিচে একজনকে দেখা যাচ্ছে… ওকে পানি খাওয়াতে হবে।”

At first Liton's mother came forward, with a Khunti (a pointy kitchen gadget)… as if she would move the collapsed roofs with her khunti. Yesterday I suddenly heard her yelling at a firefighter, “Please give me a Daal (lentil soup) spoon.. I see someone under.. have to feed her water..”

A female worker is being pulled out by civilian volunteers and members of armed forces. Image by Rehman Asad. Copyright Demotix (26/4/2013)

A lot of people from across the country had come to volunteer for the rescue efforts. Blogger Arif Jebtik shares a personal story in Facebook about two persons, who hitchhiked with him to Savar:

দুইজনের হাতে বড় দুই ঝোলা। এতরাতে এসব দেখে সন্দেহ হলো গাড়িতে বসা একজনের। সে সোজাসাপ্টা লোক। সোজা বলে বসলো, ‘ঝোলা দেখান, দেখি ঝোলাতে কী ঝনাত্ ঝনাত শব্দ করে। মাঝরাতে গাড়িতে তুলবো আর গলা কাইটা ফালায়া যাবেন, তা হবে না।’ ঝোলা পরীক্ষা করে দেখা গেল সেখানে ছেনি-বাটাল আরো কী কী দেশি যন্ত্রপাতি!
জানা গেল এরা পেশায় রাজমিস্ত্রি, তবে মূল কাজ পুরোনো ভবন ভেঙ্গে বিক্রি করা দলে শ্রম দেয়া। কাজ করছিলেন ভৈরবে, কিন্তু সাভারের খবর পেয়ে মন মানেনি, নিজেদের কাজ শেষ করে রওনা দিতে অনেক রাতই হয়েছিল, অন্যরুটের বাস ধরে আপাতত গাজীপুরের এই জংশনে নেমে পড়েছেন। সাভারের জন্য কোনো গণপরিবহনের অপেক্ষা করছেন। সাভারের এই কারখানাগুলোতে তাদের কেউ কাজ করে না, কিন্তু তারা এসেছেন বিবেকের দায়ে।
এদের মধ্যে প্রৌঢ়জন দাঁতমুখ শক্ত করে বললেন, ‘২১ বছর বিল্ডিং ভাঙ্গার কাম করি। এই বিপদে আমি না থাকলে কে থাকব কন?’

Both had big bags in their hands. One passenger got suspicious. He asked bluntly: “show us whats in your bag. There are sounds of metal coming from there. We don't want to invite robbers in our car in midnight.” After examining their bags some local masonry tools were found.

Then we learnt that they are brick masons, but they are specialized in dismantling houses and selling scraps. Both were working in Bhairab, but hearing about Savar, they could not wait. They started after work, so the journey was already late. They took a bus till Gazipur and got out here. They were waiting for a public transport towards Savar. They don't have any kin working in the collapsed factories. They just came here out of their conscience.

The elderly among them spoke, “I dismantle buildings for 21 years. If I am not available for the rescue operations for this disaster, who will be?”

The crumbled roofs of the nine-story factory. Many workers were trapped in pockets inside. Image by Firoz Ahmed. Copyright Demotix (26/4/2013)

Mohapurush Shoeb shared a photo of a rescue worker in Facebook whose name is Babu. He alone saved 30 persons from the collapsed rubble. Risking his life he entered inside the building. He shared his experience:

ইটের স্তুপ সরিয়ে ৮ তলা থেকে একেবারে ৬ তলা পর্যন্ত নেমে আসি। সঙ্গে আরো দুজন ছিল। সেখানে ৫০ থেকে ৬০ জনের লাশ দেখতে পেলাম। লাশের স্তুপের মধ্যে থেকেই একজন হাত ধরে বললো, আমাকে বাঁচান। টেনে তাকে বাইরে বের করে নিয়ে আসি।

I moved the stack of bricks and climbed down to the 6th floor from the 8th. Two volunteers accompanied me. We saw 50-60 dead bodies. From the pile of bodies one hand grabbed me. The feeble voice said “save me”. I pulled her out from there and saved her.

Babu became sick after working many hours. After a break he joined the rescue work again.

Savar's Enam Medical College Hospital has created an unique example of providing medical help to so many injured people (for free) who were admitted there immediately after collapse. Maruf Raihan Khan, a student of 3rd year of this medical college has experienced the situation and shared in Doctors Cafe facebook page:

[...] অ্যাম্বুলেন্স করে এতো মানুষ আসছে কেন? কয়েকজনকে জিজ্ঞেস করতেই জানা গেল। কি অবস্থা একেকজন রোগীর! তাকানো যায় না! চোখে জল টলমল করা শুরু করলো।
এক অ্যাম্বুলেন্স থেকে রোগী নামাতে না নামাতেই চলে আসে আরেকটা। যারা উপস্থিত সকলে যেন দিশেহারা। এতো ট্রলি, এতো হুইল চেয়ার আন-নেয়ার লোক কোথায়? কর্মচারীদের সাথে হাত লাগালো এখানেও ছাত্ররা, আশেপাশের মানুষরাও।

[...] why so many people are coming in ambulances? I asked a few and learnt. I couldn't look at the injured bodies, such a disaster. My eyes filled with tears.

The staffs could barely finish unloading one injured person, and another appeared. Everyone was at a loss. Where are so many trollies or wheelchairs required for so many victims? The students came forward to help the staffs on duty. Even the local people started to give a hand.

He wrote about the blood donation of the common people:

তখন রক্ত দরকার, প্রচুর, প্রচুর। একটা টেবিল আর টুল নিয়ে বাইরে বসা হয়েছে। যারা রক্ত দেবে তাদের তালিকা করা হচ্ছে। লিখে কূল পাচ্ছি না। পাশে থাকা আরো দুই লোক আমার সাথে লিখতে থাকলেন। শত শত মানুষ রক্ত দিতে চলে এসেছেন, শুধু সাভার থেকে নয়; বহু দূর-দূরান্ত থেকে। কার আগে কে রক্ত দেবেন, এই নিয়ে প্রতিযোগিতা।

We needed blood, much, much blood. A tool and a table was placed outside. The list of blood donors was being prepared. I just couldn't stop writing and rest. Two colleagues joined me to prepare the list seeing hundreds of people lining up to donate blood. Not only from Savar; but also from far away they came. There was actually a rivalry on who was going to donate first.

Every day new missing people information are being added to this wall. Image by Shuvra Kanti Das. Copyright Demotix (30/4/2013)

Many people also donated blood in Shahbag Gonojagoron Moncho. A lot of contribution were in the form of water, saline and medicine for the injured victims. This poor man could bring only one bottle of water, one packet of biscuit and one packet saline. But he felt he should do something for the injured. Some even offered free phone service for those searching for missing people.

Parvez Alam writes in Facebook about this amazing response from common people:

রাষ্ট্র যেমনি হউক আমাদের সমাজ পিছিয়ে নাই। এর প্রমাণ গতকালই হয়েছে যখন জনতা নিজ উদ্যোগে লাইন দিয়ে রক্ত দিয়েছে, ঝুঁকি নিয়ে উদ্ধার কাজে নেমে পড়েছে, নিজেরাই যে কয়জনকে সম্ভব বাঁচিয়েছে।

No matter how the state performed our societies did not let us down. A proof of this can be found in the long line of blood donors, how they engaged in the rescue efforts and saved many lives on their own.

Live Updates on Bangladesh Factory Tragedy

Rezwan — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 06:59:45 +0000

The death toll of the factory collapse in Savar, Bangladesh has risen to 290. Here is a live blog [bn] maintained by the Muktaangon blogging platform curating social media updates on the latest on the relief and rescue effort of the trapped workers inside the collapsed building.

Hundreds Killed and Trapped in Bangladesh Garment Factory Collapse

Rezwan — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 02:52:27 +0000

A nine-story building with mostly garment manufacturers collapsed in Savar, in the outskirts of capital city Dhaka, killing 142 people and injuring close to a thousand, resurrecting concerns of safety conditions in Bangladesh's manufacturing industry.

More than a thousand are believed to still be trapped under the rubble.

Six garment manufacturers were operating from the third to the eight floor of the structure in Savar and at least five thousand people were inside the crowded building when it caved in on the morning of April 24, 2013.

This disaster comes five months after a fire killed more than a 100 people, mostly women, at another overcrowded garment factory Tazreen Fashions.

Since that incident, there has been increasing concern about workers safety and inadequate emergency response systems in the industry. Garment factory workers have also been agitating against poor-pay.

Bangladesh is the second largest producer of ready-made garments after China. International retailers Walmart, H&M, Sears, GAP, Tommy Hilfiger and many other renowned brands outsource their cloths from Bangladesh, bearing the tag “Made in Bangladesh”, a pride for the country. Blogger and journalist Arafatul Islam thinks such pride is at stake:

পোশাক কারখানায় আগুন লেগে পুড়ে মরে শ্রমিক, পোশাক কারখানার ভবন ধসে চাপা পড়ে মরে শ্রমিক… লাশের মিছিল এভাবেই বেড়ে চলে। আগে ‘মেইড ইন বাংলাদেশ’ দেখলে আগ্রহ ভরে কিনতাম। এখন কেমন যেন সেই লেখার মধ্যে রক্তের দাগ দেখতে পাই, মৃত্যুর আর্তনাদ শুনি।

Workers die in factory fires, workers die in factory building collapses.. the procession of the dead becomes long. I used to buy “Made in Bangladesh” cloths with pride. Now I see blood on that label, hear the cries of death.

The scene after a nine-storey building collapsed in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka. Image by Firoz Ahmed. Copyright Demotix (24/4/2013)

Netizens expressed their outrage on social media about the repeated disasters at garments factories. Most workers in this sector are women. Blogger Vashkar Abedin writes in Facebook:

আহা বোন!
সুঁচ-সুতো দিয়ে কেবল নিজেদের মৃত্যু বুনে যাচ্ছো…

Ah sister!
Sewing your death only…

Joydeep Dey Shaplu cannot control his rage in Facebook:

এতো লাশের ভিড়ে কেউ জীবিত থাকতে পারে না। আমি আপনি সব শালা লাশ… নইলে এতো লাশ পড়তো না এ দেশে…

Nobody can be alive among all these dead bodies. We are zombies.. otherwise we could not let so many deaths happen..

There was a crack in the building evident just the day before. The factories were closed immediately [bn]. But the signs of impending collapse were ignored by the building owner as he opened it for business on 24 April and workers were forced to go back to work. Sumeema Yasmin Sumi cannot accept such a reckless decision from the management:

এতোগুলো মানুষকে মৃত্যুর দিকে ঠেলে দেয়া হলো! এরকম দায়িত্বহীনতা কোনোভাবেই মেনে নিতে পারছি না।

So many people were forced towards death. I cannot accept such a lack of responsibility from the management.

Lucky Akter, one of the leading activists of the #Shahbag protests writes in Somehwhereinblog in a post titled “Mourn Not, But Protest”:

দাসপ্রথা নাকি বিলোপ হয়েছে বহু আগে কিন্তু আমরা তো দেখি দাস প্রথা নতুন ভাবে ফিরে এসেছে খুব ভয়ালভাবে, তা না হলে মৃত্যু নিশ্চিত-জেনেও শ্রমিকদেরকে পিটিয়ে পিটিয়ে কেন মৃত্যুকূপে পাঠানো হল? কেন মিথ্যা বেতনের আশ্বাস দিয়ে শ্রমিকদেরকে কারখানায় আনা হল?

Slavery has been abolished long ago. But we see that slavery has returned in a new form. Otherwise knowing that there is a death-risk, how come these laborers were forced to enter the death-zone? Were they lured back to work by promising bonuses?

Army personnel and civilian volunteers work together to rescue those trapped. Image by Firoz Ahmed. Copyright Demotix (24/4/2013)

The majority of Bangladesh's export earnings come from the ready-made textile industry. Tamanna Sultana writes on Facebook:

আমি লজ্জিত! একটা দেশের অর্থনীতির মূল চালিকাশক্তি যারা, তারা শয়ে শয়ে মরে গেলেও তেমন কিছু যায় আসে না। এই ঘটনা বার বার ঘটতে থাকে। বড় বড় ব্যক্তিগুলো সুখে শান্তিতে বসবাস করতে পারলেই হলো…

I am ashamed! Those who are the backbones of the economy of the country are dying in hundreds, and nobody cares. And this is being repeated again and again. It seems we care about the well beings of rich and powerful only.

The factory owners or those responsible are rarely convicted for their lapses that lead to the big disasters. Apurbo Shohag expresses rage in Facebook:

এই দেশে মৃত্যু কোনো ব্যাপার না। এই দেশে সবচে’ সস্তা জিনিস হলো মানুষের প্রাণ! শুধু আজকে সাভারেই নয়, এর আগেও যখন গার্মেন্টস কারখানাগুলোতে অসংখ্য প্রাণ শেষ হয়েছে বা ভবন ধসে মানুষ মরেছে আমরা তখন শুধুই শুনে গেছি মালিকদের শাস্তি হবে। শাস্তি হয় কি না সেটা আর জানা হয় না। তবে একের পর এক সাভারের মতো ঘটনা ঘটছেই। দীর্ঘ থেকে দীর্ঘ হয় লাশের লাইন।

In this country death comes easy. Because the cheapest thing is the human life. Not only today's disaster in Savar, we have heard many times after the previous factory disasters that those who responsible including the owners will be brought to justice. But we don't see them get punished. So such disaster happen again and again. The bodies pile up in greater numbers.

Many are still buried under concrete rubble. Image by Firoz Ahmed. Copyright Demotix (24/4/2013)

The Government has declared a day of mourning [bn] for such a tragic loss. There were appeals via Facebook to donate blood, and many rushed to donate blood in Savar and elsewhere.

Blood donation drive in Shahbag Square for the injured people of Savar building collapse. Image courtesy Shahbag Movement Facebook page.

Updates were being sent in Twitter:

@ShahbagInfo: Rh NEGATIVE BLOOD NEEDED in #Shahbag; 700 bags of #blood collected here, 500 sent to Dhaka Medical College & Enam Medical College. #Savar

Volunteers for Bangladesh crowdsourced volunteers via Facebook to help the rescue operations. More pictures of the disaster are available in this post by Blogger Bishkhoy.

India Suffers from Bad Governance

Rezwan — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 01:17:45 +0000

Big government leads to corruption. Corruption leads to bad governance. Bad governance gives rise to mass poverty.

Atanu Dey argues that India is not doomed to be poor due to factors outside its control. It needs good governance.

Documenting Cases Of Discrimination To End Untouchability

Rezwan — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 23:56:17 +0000

Video Volunteers, an international media and human rights NGO, is promoting community videos to document and highlight plights of the marginalized and poor communities around the world. On the 14th of April 2012, Video Volunteers launched the ARTICLE 17 campaign which involved documenting video testimonies of different forms of untouchability by Community Correspondents across the country and taking actions. This 14 April, 2013 marks the first anniversary of the campaign against the discrimination against the so called “untouchables.”

Untouchability is a form of discrimination, the social-religious practice of ostracizing a minority group by segregating them from the mainstream by social custom or legal mandate. The term is used in India to talk about the public treatment of especially the Dalit communities, who face work and descent-based discrimination at the hands of the dominant Hindu castes.

Girls in a garbage picker colony. They are considered as Untouchables because it is considered that the simple act of touching them brings impurity. They are excluded from the system of Indian castes. Image by Yan Seiler. Copyright Demotix (1/9/2011)

Although untouchability has been made illegal in post-independence India, Dalits and other scheduled castes substantially empowered, prejudice against them are seen in the society, especially in rural areas.

Video Volunteers director Stalin K. provides a background of the campaign to end untouchability:

Ten Years ago, I started on a journey to document practices of untouchability across several states and religions of India. 25,000 kilometres, 9,000 minutes of footage and four years later, I put together a documentary called India Untouched. The main reason for making this film was to challenge the belief of most Indians that untouchability is a thing of the past.

Stalin continues:

Article 17 of the Indian Constitution states that “Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of untouchability shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.” However, society continues to look at untouchability as a social given, grounded in ‘tradition’. Instead, we should see such practices for what they are: criminal acts.

The documenting initiative started in 2010 (see Global Voices report). The Community Correspondents of Video Volunteers have so far produced a series of 30 videos which documented untouchability practices across the nation. Here are a few examples:

The Untouchable Well: The Dalit community is only allowed to drink water drawn from the one chosen “untouchable” well in the village. Video by Video Volunteers

Untouchability in Shops: Dalits are not allowed to enter shops even if they are paying customers. They have to either throw their money into the hands of the “upper” caste shopkeepers without touching them or leave the money on the floor. Goods touched by Dalits are purified by putting them once through a burning flame. Video by Video Volunteers

Untouchability Captured and Ended on Camera: The video chronicled married Dalit women in the village removing their slippers and holding it in their hands as they crossed an “upper caste” neighborhood. The combined efforts of the Community Correspondent on the ground, the over 5000 people who signed the petition (DM) online and the national zeitgeist created by the TV show, persuaded the DM and the Superintendent police to personally visit the village to conduct a public hearing condemning the practice. The people promised the DM that there will no more complaints from the village. The practice was declared ‘abolished.’ Video by Video Volunteers

You can watch the whole set of videos from this Youtube channel. A petition campaign has started to ask the National Commission for Schedule Castes (NCSC) to take action against the documented violations.

Shekhar comments on the videos at India Unheard Blog:

After watching all these videos, I came to know that my view that the caste system in India is weakened to some extent is wrong and totally a blunder. I am forced to grasp that it is still rampant and deeply rooted.

Here are some Twitter reactions on the untouchability situation in India:

Shraddha Upadhyay (@shraddha48), a blogger from Gwalior tweets:

@shraddha48: Do read a personal experience of untouchability & endless prejudices. “What night is donned upon my nation, lord?” http://t.co/GtZRde1ndz

Community Media (@babasaheb_org) writes:

@babasaheb_org: 84 types of untouchability are being practised in the state even now http://fb.me/1D1WAjT2l

Stalin ends his post with:

It’s time we accepted that the practice of untouchability is not the vestigial remains of some backward, social phenomenon or tradition: it’s a criminal offence. Let’s start calling it what it is.

Bhutan's Alcohol Problem

Rezwan — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 08:25:11 +0000

Rikku Dhan Subba is concerned about the growing alcoholism in Bhutan, which is creating problems in many families and societies.

Private Guards for Pakistani Candidates

Rezwan — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:04:03 +0000

Chowrangi blog reports that considering the deteriorating law and order situation and pre-election violence the Election Commission of Pakistan has allowed candidates to keep five civilian bodyguards with licensed arms during the ongoing Election 2013 campaign.