Editorial-I

First session of parliament

The hectic and smooth proceedings of the first session of the ninth parliament have rekindled hopes of the nation that the present legislature will go a long way in strengthening a sustainable democracy. We saw fiery debates and noisy walkouts but happily, the opposition did not continue boycott of the parliament for long as we had seen in the past. The session began on January 25, about a month after the government of prime minister Sheikh Hasina had assumed office. Main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party lawmakers joined the inaugural sitting, but remained absent for a few days after a seating rearrangement in the house. They, however, returned to the parliament after a negotiation initiated by the speaker.
Thirty-two bills were passed by the house in its first session spanning 39 working days. The bills, mostly the ordinances promulgated by the previous interim government, included the Representation of the People Order (Amendment) Bill, Upazila Parishad (Reintroduction of the Repealed Act and Amendment) Bill, Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill, Right to Information Bill, Consumer Rights Protection Bill, and Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (Amendment) Bill.
A number of unscheduled debates took place on matters of public importance. The house also approved a condolence motion on the deaths of army officers during soldiers'' rebellion in the Bangladesh Rifles headquarters in February 25-26. An unscheduled discussion also took place on the issue. With the selection of 45 lawmakers in the seats reserved for women, the number of lawmakers in the parliament stood at 345.The ruling Awami League got 36 lawmakers in reserved seats, BNP 5 and Jatiya Party 4 in keeping with the representation of the parties in the parliament.
During the first session, the house instituted and reconstituted 36 parliamentary standing committees on ministries. Eleven other committees on parliamentary affairs were also instituted.
In fact, the first session concluded with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina calling upon all political parties, irrespective of differences of opinion, to work together in the interest of the country, its sovereignty and democracy. Hasina quite rightly urged the opposition to give the government some time to ensure people''s welfare and not to create any chaos as people gave the mandate in favour of the Awami League-led alliance in the December 29, 2008 general elections.
Hasina''s call comes from what unrest could bring about for the country and we all have bitter experiences centering on the January 11, 2007 political changeover. In fact, unrest and indiscipline can never do any good to the country and the people and economic activities also suffer in the absence of peace and stability. The entire nation now hopes that whatever may be the difference of opinion between the two top political leaders of Bangladesh, all political parties need to work together in the interest of the country, its sovereignty and democracy. The first session of the ninth parliament showed the way.

Editorial-II

Need for pure air to breathe

We are horrified to note that the air of Dhaka and Chittagong ha more than double the level of pollutants recommended by the United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA). The level of pollutants in the two metropolitan cities gets worse with the advent of winter.
Air pollution has turned to be a dangerous threat to crops, environment and ecology in the whole of South Asia. Bangladesh is doing its best to combat this; but a single country initiative cannot prevent air pollution as it also affects the neighbors.
Air pollution is one of the leading causes of the country''s infant deaths. It stands next to waterborne and sanitation related diseases. It affects lactating mothers and young children. A major portion of premature deaths of under-five children is caused by air pollution. Besides, there are other alarming affects of air pollution. Emission of green house gas causes global warming. The subsequent result is rise of seawater level and other natural calamities. The coastal districts of the country was devastated by a cyclone. This was also caused by air pollution. A big portion of Bangladesh may be submerged for this. We must have to avert this catastrophe immediately. If not, our survival will be at stake.
We need pure air to breath. We cannot live without inhaling pure air. We therefore must take all possible steps to keep our air free from pollution. Polluted air is a killer. We have to defeat it by all necessary means.

Post-I

AWD technology for Boro

Research has been conducted through BRRI-IRRI collaboration since long time to develop water saving techniques for rice cultivation by the alternate wet and drying method, writes Dr M A Sattar

Boro rice in Bangladesh, either HYV (High Yielding Variety) or traditional variety covering more than 4.5 million ha, is entirely irrigated, mostly with underground water. Irrigation has become a very costly input in rice production because of increasing cost of fuel. Farmers pay about 25-30% of the rice harvest for irrigation. For producing 1 kg of paddy, it is estimated that a farmer has to use 3-4 thousand liters of water for keeping ponded water during the growing stage of plants. Therefore, farmers irrigate quite frequently and keep the field flooded all the times. As a result, the cost of irrigation increases day by day and groundwater level is declining due to excessive withdrawal which is also threatening the environment. Therefore research has been conducted through BRRI-IRRI collaboration since long time to develop water saving techniques for rice cultivation by the alternate wet and drying (AWD) method.
Water resources are becoming scarce worldwide, Bangladesh is of no exception. As surface water supply is decreasing day by day, irrigation pressure is going towards groundwater resource in the recent years. But this resource is not unlimited and in intensive tubewell areas, pumping water level is declining gradually in dry season. Recently, arsenic contamination is being reported in groundwater as well as in the food chain, which is threatening its utilization. So the judicial use of water resources in intensive irrigated area is a crucial need for maintaining sustainable crop production.
Generally, in Bangladesh, irrigation is applied mainly in dry season. According to the recent estimates, out of 8.4 Mha of cultivable land, about 4.8 Mha arable lands have been brought under irrigation. It implies that about 57% of total cultivable lands are irrigated. Both surface and groundwater are used for irrigation purpose. At present more than 70% of the irrigated area is served by groundwater and less than 30% by surface water. Groundwater is being extracted through 11, 28,991 Shallow Tubewells (STWs), 27,117 Deep Tubewells (DTWs), 826 force mode pumps (FMP), and 1, 15,876 un-mechanized (manually operated Hand tubewells, Treadle pumps and Rower pumps) pumps for irrigation and domestic purposes. There are also 99,115 Low-Lift Pumps (LLPs) and 5, 01,431 traditional irrigation units in operation for lifting surface water. Therefore the role of irrigation technology like AWD irrigation practice can play a remarkable role for reducing water losses and can save cost of irrigation for crop production.
AWD technology: This AWD tool is a single device has been designed to observe water level in rice field for deciding the time of irrigation. It involves installation of a perforated pipe (preferably PVC pipe) in rice field to allow observation of water level. In one part, a perforated PVC pipe of 10 cm diameter and 30 cm long was installed having 10 cm above the ground surface and the rest 20 cm of the perforated PVC pipe was placed below the ground surface.
Field practice of AWD: A study conducted by BRRI on Piloting of Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) Technology for water saving in Boro Rice cultivation during 2007-08 in the three selected districts near by BRRI regional station ( Rangpur, Kustia, Feni) under different irrigation systems (DTW, STW,LLP) with 90 sample farmers.
Field demonstration of AWD method: The water management practice in the command area was done as per researcher''s recommendation. Water status during the whole season was monitored. Irrigation was supplied when water level reached 20 cm below the ground surface. The depth of water supply in each irrigation was 5-7 cm. After transplanting, shallower irrigation depth (2-4 cm) was maintained during the establishment period of young seedlings. AWD practice was maintained after 15-20 days of transplanting up to booting stage for a period of 50-60 days depending on rice varieties from booting to milk stages of rice.
Benefits of AWD:The study indicates that numbers of irrigation used by AWD technology shows on an average for short duration variety like BRRI dhan28 received 8 irrigations in AWD practice from vegetative to reproductive stage, whereas in case of farmers practice it was 12. As a result about 4 irrigations saved compared to the farmers practice. Similarly for long duration variety like BRRI dhan29 on an average 5 irrigation were saved during Boro season. Comparative water used under AWD and farmers'' practices were shows that for short duration variety water saved about 23% water saved, whereas 25% was saved for long duration variety. Benefit of AWD method shows that on an average the additional financial benefit from water saving and yield of AWD method over farmer''s management practice was Tk 7287 /ha for BRRI dhan28, whereas this amount was Tk 4595 /ha for BRRI dhan29. It indicates that the over all water used for per kg BRRI dhan28 in AWD and farmers'' practice were 1953 lit/kg and 2792 lit/kg, whereas that was for BRRI dhan29 was 2466 lit/kg and 3026 lit/kg, respectively. Therefore, AWD technology saved number of irrigation, fuel cost, increased water productivity and yield.
Scope and strategies for implementing of AWD technology: AWD has been widely adopted in China. It is also a recommended practice in northwest India, and is being tested by farmers in the Philippines. The AWD fields had the same yield as continuous flooding, but this new method saved 16-24% water costs and 20-25% production costs. In Bangladesh, AWD technology using PVC pipe in rice field can save estimated Tk. 3 billion during Boro season throughout the country as the method reduces reasonable fuel consumption. Also research result indicated that at field level water saving technology Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) can save 20-30% irrigation cost in terms of water, fuel and time. Therefore, for implementation of AWD technology in the Boro season large scale demonstration is needed all over the country in irrigated environment.

-- The writer is the Chief Scientific Officer and Head, IWM Division, BRRI, Gazipur

Post-II

Obama''s flawed Afghan strategy

Barack Obama runs the risk of getting into a quagmire of the sort that imperilled Lyndon Johnson when he inherited a war that consumed him, writes M.K. Bhadrakumar

While insisting that the primary goal of the new Afghan strategy be narrow, President Barack Obama has actually widened the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and the region. He runs the risk of getting into a political and military quagmire. The "maximalists" seem to have won the debate within the administration.
Broadly speaking, those who counselled that the U.S. roll back its agenda of stabilisation of Afghanistan and put strict parameters on troop deployment and the commitment of resources - among whom was Vice-President Joseph Biden - lost ground, while those who argued for a continued commitment to the mission in Afghanistan and for dedicating the time, resources and U.S. leadership necessary to stabilise the region prevailed.
In a telling remark during a Fox Network television interview, Secretary of Defence Robert Gates, asked about the difference between George W. Bush''s "war on terror" and Mr. Obama''s "campaign against extremism," said with barely disguised triumphalism: "I think that''s people looking for differences where there are none." The new strategy signifies an escalation. In sum, the U.S. is launching a bloody pacification campaign.
Admittedly, there is a shift in emphasis from Mr. Bush''s war. The accent is not on making Afghanistan a western-style democracy but on making America safe from a perceived al-Qaeda threat. The raison d''etre of the war is explained in stark terms comprehensible to a U.S. public opinion that is increasingly weary of involvement in faraway wars. Thus, Mr. Obama insists that the terror syndicate is "actively planning attacks on the U.S. homeland from its safe haven in Pakistan." He said: "We have a clear and focussed goal: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat the al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future. That''s the goal that must be achieved."
The hyped-up new U.S. strategy - "stronger, smarter and comprehensive" - is essentially based on nine different postulates. One, there is a fundamental connection between the future of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Two, the al-Qaeda poses an existential threat to Pakistan. Three, Pakistan''s ability to meet the al-Qaeda threat is tied to its own strength and security. Four, Pakistan needs U.S. help but must be made accountable while receiving it. Five, the Taliban''s gains in Afghanistan must be reversed and a more capable and accountable Afghan government needs to be promoted. Six, the "surge" should have both military and civilian components and they need to be integrated. Seven, the requisite of enduring peace is that there should be reconciliation among former enemies. Eight, the al-Qaeda can be isolated and targeted on the pattern of the "Sunni Awakening" process successfully undertaken in Iraq. Nine, international participation is necessary, especially NATO''s.
How adequate is the U.S. Afghan strategy in coping with these postulates? First, Mr. Obama recognises the obvious truth that Pakistan is the key problem and, therefore, there has to be an "AfPak" approach. But he outlined few new options for dealing with Pakistan. The strategy envisages massive U.S. economic (and military) assistance to Pakistan and the world community''s active engagement of it. That is as far as it goes. However, the Pakistani leadership is very, very fragmented and no single source of power is in charge or has a vision of how to bring FATA into the mainstream. As the prominent Pakistani author and columnist Ahmed Rashid noted: "We have an elite, frankly, a ruling elite that is virtually in the state of collapse, and is not willing to take the leadership role and the kind of risks involved in standing up to the Taliban. And that puts the country in a very poor position." The military too seems increasingly lacking the capacity or will (or both) to provide leadership. Within the military, the sympathy for the Taliban and the resentment towards the U.S. are substantial. Besides, the cauldron of "anti-Americanism" in the Pakistani opinion is overflowing. Mr. Rashid, who is a consultant to the Pentagon, admits that Pakistan is "not a place where American opinion is taken very seriously. Unfortunately, Pakistan and the people are likely to respond quite negatively to the Obama proposals because of the conditionalities that are being set up. We are dealing here with a very serious crisis in Pakistan. And only time will tell how this is going to be resolved."
Washington seems to expect that the leverage of aid and the incumbent Army chief and the President will balance out its loss of influence. But the critical question remains - the U.S. ability to reshape the attitude of the Pakistan government and the military. To be sure, that also involves a cultural change which is going to take time. Unsurprisingly, the reception to Mr. Obama''s proposals has been lukewarm in Pakistan. The pervasive opinion seems to be that it is the American presence in the region that is causing violence. Of course, this doesn''t mean increased American aid is unwelcome but ultimately, Pakistan has to do its own thinking. The conundrum explains why Mr. Obama has probably not shown his hand yet on Pakistan.

Off The Track

Iranian dream

Martin Patience

In a cavernous UN reception tent on the Afghan-Iranian border, eight men and a young boy sat and drank tea at a white plastic table. Two of the men had bandages around their heads and another wore a neck brace.
The group of Afghans had been packed into a speeding vehicle on the way to the Iranian capital, Tehran, when they had swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle.
"Our car then flipped," said Nowrous Haji Yakous, 22. "One of my relatives was killed in the accident." The men were all then arrested by the Iranian police and an hour later were deported from the country because they had no relevant paperwork.
Afghanistan has long depended on its western neighbour Iran for work and sanctuary.
More than two million Afghan refugees poured into the country during the worst years of fighting - many of whom remain today. But Iran is increasingly clamping down on the tens of thousands of young Afghan economic migrants who are smuggled across the border and then look for work.
Every day, hundreds of Afghans - mainly young men - are brought across the frontier on buses, deported from a country where they had hoped to find work. According to UN figures, there were more than 400,000 cases of deportation in 2008.
Many of the workers have been deported more than once, effectively "recycling themselves" across the border, as one official put it.
Afghan workers can sometimes earn $1,000 a month in Iran - four or five times what they could expect to get in their own country.
It is an economic reality acknowledged by some officials in Herat. "They just want to get jobs to provide for their families," said Shah Moham-med Mohik, director of the province''s department for refugees and repatriation.
Mr Mohik says the Afghan government is trying to work with Iranian officials to make the process of getting work visas easier. He also says that the government must do more to create jobs for Afghans.
But despite the risks, there are still thousands of Afghans willing to cross the flat, unforgiving desert. Many travel to Nimruz province in southern Afghanistan where people-traffickers offer to smuggle them across the border. The one-way trip costs about $400.
But this illegal journey can take up to a month and is often extremely dangerous. "Sometimes the Iranian police shot at our vehicles," said one man, who I had arranged to meet in a bustling restaurant in Herat city.
"We can''t stop because we''re illegal - they''ll simply deport us. We spend a lot of time walking - skirting around checkpoints before getting into another vehicle.

Letters to the Editor

Family planning

Permanent method to reduce birth rate has become urgently necessary in Bangladesh. Nobody can deny that the country is set to face a very dangerous population explosion in 25 years. Population density in the country’s every square kilometer of land would gradually increase to 1,540 by the year 2030 from the existing 1000. It will demonize cultivable land and forestry and subsequently usher in a food crisis. The rate of illiteracy will also rise with this. The ratio of surface water per head will also dwindle alarmingly.
Experts therefore rightly underscore the need for taking permanent method to reduce birth rate for greater interest of the country.
We all must understand the urgency of the theme. The number of birth method user rate has to be increased to at least 72 percent from the existing 58.1 percent and reduce the total fertility rate (TFR) from 3 to 2.2 by 2010. The adviser wisely said the male participation in birth control process must be increased to achieve gender parity and the target of fertility rate.
The failure to adopt permanent method to reduce birth rate will surely lead us to an extremely dangerous situation. The man-land ratio is meager in our country. Population growth will create new pressure on cultivable land. It will gradually shift to forest areas. This will destroy the ecological balance. Crisis of food and water will be inevitable. The only solution to these problems is family planning. The government has to enforce draconian laws to ensure birth control. The rate `of population growth has to be reduced. Any dilly-dally in doing so will be literally dangerous for the nation.
Sohag Biswas
Bashabo, Dhaka

Medical Wastes

There have been some 5oo private clinics and public hospitals in the city. But surprisingly enough there is almost no arrangement for dumping medical wastes. This makes life here ever more dangerous. We are likely to develop serious and fatal diseases any moment.
According to an exclusive news item carried by the News Today, the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) collects dumps more than three thousand tones of wastes daily. Of these, some 250 tones are produced by the healing homes. But the DCC has arrangement for dumping them at selected points and monitoring system to look into the matter. This causes serious pollution to the environment. Experts say, different types gases including toxic and dioxin create various diseases due to burning of medical wastes. Unplanned dumping also creates pollution of river water. This affects the entire city very adversely.
The news item quoted experts as saying that we have no efficient chemists to identify the worst gases that cause harm to the body.
There are allegations that most of the clinics have not proper arrangement for disposal of waste. They often do not dump them at the dustbins. The Department of Environment wants dumping of medical wastes at some fixed place in the interest of public health. But the department have not enough manpower to monitor that the clinics behave properly.
The DCC has very limited options for collecting garbage. While collecting the wastes from the dustbins, a portion of it is thrown on drains and surfaces. This creates extreme health hazard.
The Corporation has taken up a plan for separate disposal of medical wastes from the city’s hospitals, private clinics and diagnostic centres. It will be equipped with separate garbage trucks, waste containers and cleaners having safety mechanism as soon as possible.
It sounds sweet that the DCC has realized the importance of the matter. We wish their plan a success. We, however, would like to find the word “soon” in its literary meaning. Also Necessary is increasing the manpower of the Department of Environment to monitor the whole situation.
Ripon Chowdhury
Adabar, Dhaka

Gender Equality

It is extremely shocking to note that women have been kept outside the mainstream development activities of the country. Gender equality and women empowerment has not been ensured in Bangladesh yet. Women are therefore often subjected to repression and violence. More important is the fact that sustainable development of the country is not possible keeping the women in such pitiable condition.
These were observed at a workshop in the city recently. The workshop on “ Gender, Reproductive Health and Women Rights” was jointly organized by the Women Affairs Department of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA).
The panelists very wisely observed that the need for making integrated efforts involving people from all levels to establish gender equality and women empowerment by protecting women from discrimination were the urgent need of the hour.
We fully agree with the panelists. In Bangladesh, a little more than a half of the population are women. They must be allowed to join their hands in development activities. They must be freed from all kinds of disparities. They must also be freed from violence. Besides, we have to ensure their freedom of choice to say “yes” or “no” in every situation.
Our national poet, Kazi Nazrul Islam, has very wisely observed that the credit goes equally to men and women for all the wonderful achievements of the world. It is therefore clear that women have the ability to do every thing like the men. We cannot therefore keep them outside development activities. They must be freed from fatwas (rulings by religious courts) and illiteracy. They should get equal opportunities in every spheres of the society. Ensuring this is urgently necessary in the national interest of the country.
Kulsum Begum
Comill

EDITORIAL

What’s to do with cut in lending rates?

As expected the Bankers’ Association (ABB) has announced it would cut deposit rates keeping the five per cent spread intact to accommodate the central bank and finance ministry’s pleas to lower lending rates to 13 per cent in some selected sectors. So, ultimately who loses in this maneuver to face the challenges of the global economic crisis? Businessmen—no; banks—-no but poor public—yes. Millions of people, mainly the old and disabled, who manage their lives from the income of their lifetime’s savings have been made the sacrificial goat. It is shocking the way the central bank and the finance ministry have succumbed to the pressure from the businessmen.  
Will this really help? The argument for lowering bank interest rates is that high rates increase the cost of business. But what percentage of the total cost is due to interest rates? There are many who think bank interest rates contribute insignificantly to cost of business especially in our country. There are bureaucratic hassles and corruption, bribes, extortion by professional and political mastaans, political and social tensions and so many other things. Without doing anything to control these things lowering lending rates is the easy way out that our political and business leaders are so fond of. We expected that at least the Finance Minister would not be a party to this but that has not happened.  
Left to themselves the bankers would not have lowered the lending rates but they have been coerced by the central bank and also the government. This is a breach of the free market system that we practice. However, we are prepared to accept the argument that these are exceptional times. Still we think that the issue should have been left to demand and supply. If there are no takers of loans at high rates of interests then the banks themselves would have towered the rates. Even in the new arrangement banks lose nothing, they will keep their five per cent spread intact. Why couldn’t the central bank intervene here? It is really unfortunate that the unethical practice of passing the bucks on to the helpless people still continues. 
At least the Finance Minister could have ensured that senior citizens, widows and the disabled were not affected. There is a shocking lack of compassion in this decision. The government and the central bank have simply surrendered to the business people. We remain skeptical about this measure helping us tide over the effects of global economic recession. Businessmen will get compensated from the Yk 6,000 crores fund that the government has committed and the banks would continue to earn huge profits. The only loser will be the poor depositors. Who cares?