Probir Bidhan: A Journo's Diary

Sharing Information And Thoughts

Category: Environment

১০ বছর আগের সিএনজি ভাড়ার চার্ট কার্যকরের আদেশ কতোটা যৌক্তিক?

আজব এক দেশ বাংলাদেশ। ২০০৯ সালে ক্ষমতায় এসে আওয়ামী লীগ সরকার আগের আমলের মতোই অনিয়ম ও দুর্নীতিকে উৎসাহিত করেছিল। চালকদের মাস্তানির কারনে মিটারে ভাড়া নির্ধারণ করা বন্ধ আছে বহু বছর ধরে। মিটার অনুসরণ করা নিয়ে ট্রাফিক পুলিশ নামকাওয়াস্তে মনিটরিং করলেও চালকরা তা মানতে নারজ হওয়ায় যাত্রীদের হয়রানি কমার পরিবর্তে শুধুই বেড়েছে। সিএনিজির দাম বাড়ানোর সাথে…

11/02/2025
The endangered Asian Elephants

According to IUCN SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group (AsESG) reported in August 2021, there are now only about 48,000-50,000 Asian Elephants found in 13 range states. More than 60% of the wild population exists in India alone. Only four other countries – Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and Sri Lanka – have more than 2,000 wild elephants.…

15/01/2025
SWATCH OF NO GROUND: Bangladesh’s mysterious submarine canyon

Formed over 125,000 years ago from the Ganges River systemHome to Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, Bryde’s whalesAdventurous tourists want easy access to the site This feature was published in Dhaka Tribune on February 24, 2024. In 2021, the people were surprised as to whether there were whales in the Bay of Bengal as they discovered a…

24/02/2024
Sundarbans Oil Spill: Is Bangladesh capable of facing disasters?

Now ‎Dolphins‬ started dying after the ‎Sundarbans‬ oil spill. Fishes, birds, crabs are already dying. Next are the deer and tigers, and what not! However, it’s no big deal for this ‪‎government and the administration of 2014‪ Bangladesh! Its minister says the oil spill will not harm the forest much! They are building two 1320MW coal-run power plants – despite knowing…

14/12/2014
Phulbari will resist Asia Energy, Awami League

In just another aggressive effort of the Awami League government and the GCM Plc (Asia Energy), its CEO Gary Lye visited Phulbari in Dinajpur Wednesday noon. He was for the second time in two years obstructed by the conscious locals who have been opposing an open-pit coal mining project of the US and UK-based firm…

29/11/2014
Legalise cattle smuggling from India

Just before his retirement, the then BSF chief UK Bansal in November 2012 had made some observations about the Indian Border Security Force’s policies, and gave solution to the unabated killings and torture of Bangladeshi people along the border, especially of the large number of so-called cattle smugglers. The most important thing he said rationally…

23/08/2014
Bangladesh to install maritime safety, navigation tools

The government has finally begun implementation of a decade-old plan to install seven coastal radio communication stations equipped with high-end lanterns, by replacing the three existing old lighthouses, with a view to ensure safety and security of people and vessels in the sea. The introduction of Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) and Integrated…

12/05/2014
Coal: Why is India so shameless?

India has a lot of coal underneath the ground, and so, it started to exploit the resource a bit early and has been doing it abruptly to meet the rising electricity demand of the industries and households. The consequence is not pleasant, though the power generation capacity has reached rocket-high, because now the next-door neighbour has…

03/04/2014
IPCC issues fresh warning over changing climate

The second instalment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report, released in Yokohama yesterday, has warned that climate change is already negatively affecting every continent and the oceans. As climate change worsens, it will make people poorer, hungrier, and more ill as they contend with more extreme flooding, heat waves, and…

30/03/2014
ভাগ্যিস প্রকৃতি কথা বলতে পারে না!

শিক্ষিত সচেতন শহুরে থেকে শুরু করে বস্তি বা গ্রামের হতদরিদ্র মানুষ পরিবেশ রক্ষার বিষয়ে এতটাই খেয়ালি যে দেশের রক্ষক যখন পরিবেশের নানা আবশ্যকীয় উপাদান ক্রমশ ধ্বংস করে তখনও তারা নির্বাক থাকে। নদী, খাল, বিল, বন, কৃষিজমি ভক্ষণ করছে যারা তাদেরকে সবধরণের সহায়তা দিতে ব্যবসাবান্ধব সরকারগুলো হুড়মুড়িয়ে পড়ে। রাজনৈতিক এইসব সরকার দেশের সাংবিধানিক কর্মকর্তা ও কর্মচারীদের…

05/03/2014
Updated stories on COP19 from Warsaw

Day 1 Concrete decisions expected at COP19 in Warsaw The 19th Conference of Parties (COP19) on climate change began on Monday in Warsaw, Poland with a hope to decide on how to support the nations vulnerable to climate change impacts before it was too late. Also considered as the finance COP, the Warsaw meet is…

13/11/2013
High Court may act now for Rampal

The High Court on Tuesday will hear for the second day a public interest litigation four lawyers have filed against a massive coal-run power plant in Bangladesh coastal district Bagerhat and construction of an anchorage for unloading coal in the reserve forest area. The plant site has 1834 acres on the bank of a river…

01/10/2013
Callousness over Rampal power plant, and cruelty

They started work on awarding India a job of building and operating coal power plants back in early 2010 – soon after the prime minister signed a 55-point joint communique with Manmohan Singh including the one involving power sector cooperation. No protests were there about the agreements until early 2011 when the PDB held a…

27/09/2013
বিক্ষিপ্ত, অতৃপ্ত এই সময়ে

বহুত মেজাজ খারাপ। অবশ্য এ আর নতুন কি! কখনো কম, আর কখনো বেশি এই যা! মাত্রা কমে যখন ভালো কোন খবর পাই। হ, আমি খবরনিয়ন্ত্রিত-জীবনযাপন করি; সাথে ডেইলি লাইফ ডোজ তো আছেই। দুইনেত্রীর সংলাপ নাটক, রাজনৈতিক হাঙ্গামা-খুন-খারাবি, বারংবার স্বৈরাচারের দূর্মুখ দর্শন, রাজাকার-মীরজাফরের কূটচাল, উগ্র মৌলবাদীদের আস্ফালন, তদুর্ধ উগ্র জঙ্গীবাদের দামামা, দুর্নীতি-স্বজনপ্রীতি, স্বাস্থ্য-শিক্ষা-বাসস্থানের তথাকথিত সাংবিধানিক মোড়ক, ফাইলবন্দী বা শম্বুকগতিতে…

25/08/2013
Write your opinion on National Environment Policy 2013 online

The draft National Environment Policy 2013 is still open for online review. The environment and forest ministry has prepared the proposal and will allow public opinion for several more days. The document is accessible on the website of Department of Environment (DoE). DOWNLOAD FROM HERE!!! Read it and give your valuable opinion. After gathering and analysing…

21/08/2013
DoE defends approval of EIA for Sundarbans coal plant

The Department of Environment (DoE) gave the EIA green signal after eight revisions and imposing a number of conditions to protect the World Heritage Site, declared by the Unesco, and river Pashur which is a sweet-water dolphin sanctuary. The final environmental clearance for the project would be given after implementation of the project “only if…

17/08/2013
Is Bangladesh on the right path centring environment?

The government is moving ahead with its priority on the climate change issues. Though climate change is a slow process, we’ve already been experiencing the impacts. The efforts taken now for adaptation and mitigation would be better for the country in the future only if those are executed properly. Bangladesh in the last couple of…

19/07/2013
Tanneries in Dhaka: No more menace please!

Probir K Sarker & Abu Bakar Siddique Published in Dhaka Tribune on June 5; bottom has latest development When tanneries were initially allowed to operate in the Hazaribagh area, at the western part of the capital, close to Turag river, no planning had taken place. Now, the number of tanneries exceed 200, over the last six decades,…

01/07/2013
Nuclear power plants: Bangladesh and global

Bangladesh plans to produce 2000MW of electricity by 2023 and another 4000MW by 2030; the plan for setting up the country’s first-ever nuclear power plant was initiated in 1961; The estimated cost of the proposed plant at Rooppur in Ishwardi upazila of Pabna district is set $1.5-2bn; The first phase (1000MW) of the project will…

25/06/2013
ইটের ভাটা মালিকেরা কি এতই শক্তিশালী!

নগরায়ন ও শিল্পায়নের দ্রুত বিকাশের কারনে নির্মান উপকরনের মধ্যে ইটের ব্যবহার দিন দিন বাড়ছে পাল্লা দিয়ে। তাই ইটের ভাটাগুলোর বিশ্রাম নেই, খুব বৃষ্টি না হলে মালিকরা চুলা বন্ধ করেনা। আর তদারকী কর্তৃপক্ষেরও নিষেধ নেই, উন্নয়ন বলে কথা। হুম, উন্নয়ন কে না চায়! কিন্তু কিসের বিনিময়ে সেই উন্নয়ন (!) অর্জিত হচ্ছে এবং সেই অর্জনের ভাগীদার কে…

29/05/2013
শ্রমিকের অধিকারঃ আন্দোলন বনাম দালালী

শ্রমিকশ্রেনীর জন্য কি করেছে আনু মুহাম্মদ-টাইপ নেতারা? এরা তো বাল-ছাল, খালি পারে ভাষন দিতে। এই টাইপ একটা প্রশ্ন ছিল একজন বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় শিক্ষার্থীর। আমার এই পরিচিত বালকটি যেটা মুখ ফস্কে বলতে পারেনি তা হলো, ‘একটা শ্রমিককে তো চাকরী দিতে পারলো না’… যার টাকা আছে, সে টাকা বানাতে সেটা খাটাবে, তার দরকার শ্রমিক আর সেই গরীব-অর্ধশিক্ষিত-চাষাদের ঠিকভাবে কাজে…

13/05/2013
Who are to blame for the Savar factory ‘killings’?

The municipal mayor of Savar has been suspended over charges of abuse of power, inefficiency and negligence in approving the design and lay-out plans of the building that housed markets, bank showroom, and five garment factories with thousand machines and heavy generators. Further measures would be taken against him if the allegations are proved. The…

12/05/2013
অন্যায়-অবিচার যখন গা-সওয়া হয়ে যায়

সেই সময়টাকে কি বলা যায়? নরক! “নরকযন্ত্রনা” মানেই তো সর্বোচ্চ কষ্ট! যদিও কেউ সে জায়গা থেকে ঘুরে এসে টক’শো-তে বা পত্রিকায় কলাম লিখে বা প্রেস কনফারেন্স করে বলেনি; আমরা অনুমান করতে পারি সেটা কেমন হতে পারে। কারন আমরা গল্পের বইয়ে আর গুরুজনদের কাছে শুনেছি। কি খারাপ কাজ করলে মৃত্যুর পর কি ধরনের শাস্তি হবে ইত্যাদি। তবে…

30/04/2013
Tree-felling needs to be controlled

Deforestation has become a grave concern these days for the Bangladesh environmentalists who are monitoring the trend and also the rate of change in climate and at the same time, its adverse impacts. Even though there are laws, the smugglers with the help of influential individuals and forest officials have been robbing the forests in…

25/03/2013
Who is to stop these polluters?

Highly polluting brickfields are still operating unabated across the country including on the outskirts of Dhaka posing serious health risks in this dry season, harming the nature and damaging arable land. Most of these conventional chimneys are baking bricks round the clock burning wood, tyres and low-quality coal. Replacing the chimneys with improved modern ones…

24/02/2013
Save the Sundarbans, shift Rampal coal-power plant

The govts of Bangladesh & India have started officially the work of Rampal power plant by holding the first-ever meeting of the joint venture company in Dhaka. The Bangladesh govt seems to be pleased to show India that it can keep its words. The Daily Star has again done the job of a mouthpiece of…

01/02/2013
Smart Export Garment Ltd, BGMEA, GOVT are you ‘smart’?

You’ve set up the export-oriented factory on the first floor of a two-storey building in the congested Beribandh area of Mohammadpur with garages and a backery on the ground floor, you’ve given narrow space for movement, you don’t have any fire fighting equipment at the workplace, you don’t have efficient security guards and officials who…

27/01/2013
Food Safety: obstacles & measures

To curb the extent of adulteration in foods, the govt has to take the prime initiative — strengthening the guidelines and increasing the punishment for such heinious acts. Then the govt will have to publicise the steps through mass media by engaging journalists and social workers. The govt offices and agencies concerned should also keep…

23/01/2013
New booster in Russia-Bangladesh relations?

The Russian experts claim that the third generation technology has the capacity to stay fine in earthquake, tsunami and wartime. MoU done for a pre-feasibility study over the 2000MW Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. Well, this project is underway in Pabna, revived a couple of years ago, initiated in 1967. The Russian govt will give $500…

17/01/2013
Objection! Punish the housing and real estate demons Ashiyan & Bashundhara!

Realtors have warned Rajuk not to interfere in its ongoing fair in Dhaka, means there could be some unauthorised plots/apartments sold in the fair like the previous days. I was very disappointed to read the story in Wednesday morning. Last year, the High Court declared 77 such schemes “illegal” and some of those are very…

03/01/2013

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