Dr. M Helal

Union-based Modern Development Model for Bangladesh
Permanent Solution to National Problems
including energy crisis, traffic jam, natural disaster, unemployment & poverty

॥ Dr. M Helal, Editor, The University Campus ॥

Introduction
Bangladesh is a country of multi-dimensional prospects & prosperity, while its problems are also diverse in nature. Most alarming national problems include illiteracy & unplanned education, electricity & energy crisis, traffic jam, unemployment, natural calamities, poverty, backward agricultural system, culture of land fragmentation & demarcation, poor implementation of law, inequality, unplanned state & social systems and above all corruption & mis-management in every segment of the society. There is only one solution to all these problems and that is, modernization of Upazilla-towns throughout the country and building Union-towns for sustainable development of grass-root people in one hand and eliminating poverty & inequality on the other.

Majority people of Bangladesh are poor because of the educational & socio-cultural discriminations; as such wide spread inequality prevails. While this poor attempt to crawl out of poverty, they face two massive obstructions, i.e. sufferings from natural calamities and the practice of land fragmentation & demarcation. If the state provides sustainable solution to these two basic problems, the poor people will be able to change their fate on their own accord. If the government & the rich become hearty or really sympathetic to the poor, the inequality between rich & poor will diminish. Consequently, a balanced & just society will be created and the social burden to the government & the rich will be lessened. As a result incidence of anti-social & chaotic activities will decline and social security will be established, which will enable the government & the rich to concentrate on development competition at the global level. At that stage of development, every citizen of Bangladesh will become an indispensable asset of a modern world.

There are more than 110 million landless people in the country, major part of the peasantry are share-croppers. They have no permanent dwelling and have to live on hand to mouth. According to a survey of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics in 2009, out of 160 million people 75% live in tin-shed or thatched houses; nearly half of the families do not have access to electricity; 60% families remain out of Radio, Television or IT communication; less than one-third of students can pass primary level education. This survey indicates that, there is no improvement in the poverty level, rather the number of poor is increasing day by day.

Though various words of planning & economic development are told by different Governments, the above mentioned survey of the Bureau of Statistics clearly reveals that number of poor is not decreasing. Thousands of projects are being undertaken at public or private level and millions of money is being spent in this regard, but poverty is not even diminishing. In my opinion, one vital cause of this condition is their vulnerable tin-shed & thatched dwellings.

In fact, unstable dwelling is the most vital liability of the poor. Almost every year these dwellings are damaged by disastrous cyclone, tidal bore or fire. Consequently, they have to engage themselves in rebuilding those damaged dwellings; they can`t make time for their own development, nor they can create opportunities for the education of future generation. On the other, vulnerability of these thatched dwellings invites hob-nub choice & business-culture in the society.

In our childhood we had gone through the story of Ghani Miah in the text book, but at maturity it is seen that Ghani Miahs are the highest in number in Bangladesh; whose debt or loan never decreases. The interest faced by Ghani Miah`s, increases twice daily. Even, many are in the opinion that well-known micro credit organizations established by broad-hearted men are nothing but machines of money-making usurers. The farmers & the poor do not get rid of credit spirals of those. Rather in their opinion, these are the advanced edition or modern engineering of traditional usurery system. I am not speaking about anyone`s failure; I am speaking about struggles of Ghani Miah`s. Rather than keeping them in dreams, I am speaking about a scientific development plan to give them peace & tranquility in practice.

Under the current usury system, the number of junior Ghani Miahs is increasing geometrically in the family of senior Ghani Miahs. In course of time, they are becoming senior Ghani Miahs and are being trapped in the vicious circle of poverty.

Sustainable arrangement of dwellings, education, health-care & employment opportunities for the people of coastal & rural areas will automatically solve all national problems including the two root problems mentioned above. Achieving this goal requires Union-based development or building Union-towns. Such town centers are observed in sub-urban areas of developed countries, where rural people are entitled to all civic facilities.

This article presents a comprehensive development Model for Bangladesh. The proposed Model can be implemented by structuring a 15 year development plan. If initiated now, Bangladesh will become economically stronger than Thailand, Malaysia or Korea within 15 years.

The proposed Model is the base to attain electricity & energy security, eliminating traffic jam, alleviating poverty & reducing inequality, enhancing scientific cultivation, increasing production & attaining self-sufficiency, reducing the ever rising number of deprived people, solving the problems of unemployment & slums, preventing land fragmentation, keeping environmental balance & geographical identity, utilizing chars (land raised from sea & river bed) as the hinterland for economic activities and fight against `all national crisis` including natural calamities. Before elaborating on the Union-based development Model, it is necessary to critically analyze some major problems of our country.

Natural disaster and floating life of numerous people
Bangladesh is the biggest delta of the world by the Bay of Bengal, where natural disasters of different dimensions strike every now and then. Due to climatic change South Asian countries will have to face highest damage in next 30 years, among them Bangladesh remains at the top most risk. After conducting a survey on 170 countries of the world, a London-based organization Maple Craft has enlisted 16 countries as extremely risky and Bangladesh tops the list. The reasons identified are extreme drought and severe scarcity of food. Bangladesh is dependent on agriculture and carrying out a relentless war against poverty. As a result, most of the economic sectors of this country will be the prey of adverse impacts of climatic change in the world. The other side of the danger is, Bangladesh does not possess much capability to resist such natural odds.

Lack of a permanent system and sustainable effort to manage such disasters, which wreck hell almost every year, results in deaths to innumerable wretched people and livestock along with irreparable loss of properties & crops. As a result, the number of floating & rootless families is increasing gradually, which is creating new social problems; national crisis is becoming acute.

Bangladesh at the clutch of formidable natural disasters in future
Scientists are in the opinion that, the devastation & wreckage caused by natural disasters will increase manifold in future. 40% land of Bangladesh will fall in flood-risk by 2020. Eminent climatologist and Professor of Toronto University Dr. Monirul Quader Mirza has remarked that, currently the poor suffer the most by various natural calamities in Bangladesh though people from all walks of life are affected by such calamities. In 2007, worldwide it was the poor who suffered the most as a result of cyclones. Such calamities make the poor even poorer. By 2020 the population of Bangladesh would increase more than 70% in comparison to the present position. Policy makers know it better whether this rising population will contribute to increase or decrease of poverty, but it is for sure that population pressure along with natural disasters will upset all.

Analyzing the Model of the former Chairman of SPARRSO Dr. Anwar Ali, Dr. Mirza has pointed out that an increase in the sea-level temperature by 2 degree centigrade in future will result in a rise of the height of tidal bore by 21 to 47 percent. As a result, intensity of cyclone & tidal bore in Bangladesh will heavily augment and so will the loss of human lives for such natural calamities. According to him, Bangladesh remains at the top with regards to the loss of human lives in natural disasters. Though only 1 percent of cyclones of the world hit Bangladesh, it took toll of 53 percent of cyclone-hit deaths of human beings in the world. Here lies the solid evidence of weakness of disaster management system in Bangladesh.

Above mentioned analysis of Dr. Monir and Dr. Anwar Ali reveals that in future loss of lives & assets as a result of natural calamities will increase manifold in Bangladesh. Consequently, people from all strata of the society will face enormous sufferings. We are fortunate to receive forewarning from specialists like Dr. Monir and Dr. Anwar Ali, regarding the impending dangers of natural disasters. But at the same time we feel helpless as our policy makers are reluctant to take dependable & workable plans for permanent solution to this problem.

At this backdrop there is no scope to enjoy the beauty of the nature or there is no room for indulging in imagination about earth-quake. Rather we have to take steps to fight against future calamities, which will not only affect the poor but also will be destructive for the rather secured livelihood of the rich. At that stage there will hardly be any scope of relief politics. We have experienced that many dishonest political leaders raise hue and cry for the distressed people during natural calamities and then grab the relief money for building their palatial houses or to donate those for building mosques or religious schools to ensure their vote bank. In some cases, iron sheets allocated from relief funds for re-building houses of the poor, distressed & homeless people are grabbed by these so called political leaders and used in building their personal factory buildings.

These spoiled sons of the rich build factories with relief materials those are destined for the homeless & destitute by exercising political power during the period of one Government, while the next Government, particularly the Care-Taker Government again takes back those materials from those factories. The Uddins of Care-Taker Government launch vigorous anti-corruption expedition; but before turning of the year they are accused of corruption, misrule and abuse of power. Why there is cheerful attempt to chain the corruption and why there is again joyful procession for its release? In one hand the public are not aware of these politics & diplomacy, on the other hand those Uddins are not put liable to accountability. Until a co-ordinated long term development model for the improvement of the country is nationally undertaken, the unhealthy politics will go rampant.

So this is the right time to save the country from man-made disasters; recover canals, ponds, lakes, rivers, hills, chars, public houses & apartments from corrupts-land robbers-pirates & forest grabbers. This is the time to unearth effective solution to natural problems and permanent & sustainable methods to combat natural disasters.

We need to undertake a sustainable planning like Holland, Japan or such other developed countries to save Bangladesh from storms, tidal bores & terrible effect of earth-quakes. We need to develop effective project planning and accumulate funds from local & international sources. Each year, huge expenditure is incurred from the public exchequer to render relief & rehabilitation to the people affected by cyclone, tidal bore or flood. It would be less costly, compared to such annual expenditures to initiate permanent solution to the problems of natural calamities. There is no confusion that we need urgent steps for permanent solutions towards problems of alarming future natural calamities and electricity & energy crisis.

We have learnt from the past experiences that, politicians often shed crocodiles` tears for the affected people during natural disasters and thereafter they do the politics of relief distribution ceremoniously before television & media for wide publicity. Such temporary relief measures cannot bring about permanent solution to problems arising out of natural disasters. Scars of natural disasters are temporarily lessened by relief, but poor people also become accustomed to begging for such aid. They do not feel encouraged to work even when they are offered productive jobs. Therefore, it is not enough to provide relief to the disaster-affected people, rather we should give them the opportunity to be self-reliant. We should not keep poor people permanently dependent on relief.

Lessons from disaster mgt. system of the Netherlands
All countries of the world face natural disasters of different forms. Nowadays developed nations are apt to take scientific & technological advantage to avert disastrous effects of nature. Cyclones, tidal bores & flood are not only problems of Bangladesh, rather many countries of the world suffer from these calamities. However, many countries have not taken such problems as inevitable destiny, instead they have utilized the knowledge of science to fight against natural irregularities. People of the Netherlands have made a glaring example of fighting against flood & cyclone and averting those by means of modern technology. I had the opportunity to observe & know some steps of Holland to fight natural calamities.

My experience in Rotterdam
The Netherlands is a small country situated in the Western Europe having a land area of one-fourth of the total areas of Bangladesh. A number of geographical features of the Netherlands are similar to those of Bangladesh. Many a times this country faced natural disasters like those of Bangladesh. But they did neither sit idle at the mercy of nature`s will nor submit to its order of time. They endeavored to face the challenge with determined courage & fortitude. Though 60 percent land of this country remains below the sea level, it does not go deep under sea water. The Dutch have resisted nature`s fearsome claws and put it down to submission by dint of intelligence. In the past, this country used to face cyclones & floods causing damage & destruction including huge loss of lives. In 1953, some 1853 Dutch died in a terrible cyclone & tidal bore in the Netherlands. Then the government of that country took up an epoch-making project called `Delta Works` at hand to protect the country from the havoc of flood & tidal bore. Under this project, they have built several large dams with special gates to prevent entry of sea water in the south-western region. These gates remain open during normal time but when the sea water in the form of tidal bore reaches the level of dams, all the gates there get closed mechanically. As a result, the land of the Netherlands is no more inundated by flood waters.

In 2002, I was fortunate to visit one such dam in the city of Rotterdam of the Netherlands and the intelligible art of construction of the dam made me spellbound. One can hardly believe unless s/he sees in his/her own eyes how man, by using the magic of engineering excellence can resist the tremendous power of onrushing water of the oceanic tidal bore. It is worth mentioning that even before taking up such modern technology, the Dutch had already been using dykes & polders from the very early age to prevent entry of flood water inside the country.

Human-made disasters and increasing inequality
Poverty & adversity are tied to each other; again our poverty is much more man-made than created by nature. The lifestyle of the rich and various amenities they use for a comfortable modern life is in turn reinforcing natural disasters and increasing the sufferings of the poor. Rich countries and rich class of people are extensively responsible for polluting the environment. They use various containers, drink-cans and other poisonous products or materials, which is a major cause of environmental pollution and occurrence of natural disasters. Therefore, the whole world is now demanding changes of such destructive lifestyle.

Poverty makes life of the poor so miserable & vulnerable that they are incapable of coping with disasters on their own. Therefore, eliminating poverty will definitely save the poor from all natural and man-made disasters including all other adversities faced by them. Unfortunately, during any natural disaster, poor people are the worst sufferers, while the rich remain relatively safe. People living in thatched or tin-shed huts face irreparable loss during natural calamities. Those who live in buildings are not much affected. Their loss is negligible compared to the former. Such natural disasters do not at all affect those who live in multi-storied buildings. These people of higher echelon always stay beyond the touch of natural calamities. For this reason, permanent solution to all sorts of problems should be accompanied by various development programs for poverty eradication. The government should provide more economic and social facilities to the poor people so that they can be self-reliant.

The culture of land fragmentation and rapid decline in agricultural land
Coastal districts of Bangladesh are characterized by chars, uncultivated fallow land, barren wasteland etc. People build unplanned houses in this area. As traditional joint family system is being abolished by and large, several sons of the same father build separate homesteads of their own. Thus arable land is declining rapidly in Bangladesh.

In many villages, where one could find vast cropland 20/25 years back, there is hardly any open land at present; let alone crop land! Now huts or tin-shed houses fill in those croplands. No plan, no regulatory approval is required for building any new house in rural areas of our country. That is why people are making their homesteads according to their wish.

In developed countries, there is no scope for making houses in arable land at one`s sweet will; such land is allotted permanently for producing crops only. Construction of houses on that land is strictly restricted by regulations. As there is no such law in our country, our land-map is changing fast. In every 3/4 years we observe changes in land map in different villages of Bangladesh. The country is losing agricultural productivity; environmental balance is being disturbed as well. The ponds adjacent to small homesteads are so small & shallow that fish farming is not possible there and also no water remains there except in rainy season. While newly built homesteads devour cropland, adjacent shadowy trees hinder growth of crops. For one bigha homestead, one and a half bigha land turns wasted. Rest of the land is demarcated by muddy lines and such innumerable land-dividers remain futile as wasteland. In this way, out of every 5 acre of cropland, approximately 1 acre remains wasted as land-dividers and the two sides of land-dividers waste another acre. Accordingly, out of 5 acres of land, crop is being produced only on 3 acres. Thus arable land is decreasing by numerous land-dividers and new homesteads. Moreover, farmers of the coastal & marshy areas live a hard life as most of the lands there produces only one crop a year.

In light of the realities mentioned above, we need to envisage how much cropland will remain after 25 years unless we restrict demarcation of croplands and unplanned construction of homesteads by initiating immediate remedial measures. As land fragmentation is a huge obstacle for scientific cultivation, we need to boost up constructive movements against this culture. Even we have to consider how this culture of land fragmentation severs our family ties & relations.

The golden people of golden Bangla are being separated from each other as the rich tradition of joint family system is disappearing. The demarcation lines of croplands have extended up to our sweet homes in the form of increasing number of concrete walls. The culture of land fragmentation and micro family results in a colossal separation in our heart and soul from each other. This culture compels us to think that `I` means `myself` not `ourselves` and there is no one or nothing important than me. Such notion makes the nation itself a weaker one.

My organization Campus Social Development Centre (CSDC) has achieved success in its initiatives to create awareness against smoking cigarettes and availing unfair means in examinations. The movement of Campus against corruption has also taken momentum. To boost up civic responsibility & patriotism, the current mission of Campus is to launch movement to demolish the culture of land fragmentation and the movement of establishing transparency, accountability & good governance in the society.

Poor land management is a common feature of our coastal districts, which is a source of various national problems. Unplanned homesteads in chars create a lot of problems. People of those areas are unable to send their children to schools as those are far away from their homesteads. Health care, judicial and other governmental facilities are yet to be made available for them. Lacks in economic opportunities in these remote areas compel the inhabitants to migrate to big cities for earning their livelihood. These jobless people, having no other alternative, resort to all ugly anti-social activities like begging alms, hijacking, theft & robbery. Some of them become members of Aggan Party & Molom Party (hijackers who rob things by making people unconscious using poisonous food or balm) and engage themselves in various criminal activities. The government becomes perturbed to handle these anti-social elements. At the same time government needs to take extra measures to ensure security in the society, at the cost of huge public exchequer.

It is clear that by keeping poverty alive, it would not be possible for the rich to live peacefully & comfortably. Moreover, it is sheer wastage of time & energy to organize numerous seminars & symposia on these issues. To improve the situation mass education & training programs are urgently needed, which may be materialized by setting up public training & media centers at the Union or Upazila level. This is elaborately discussed in this model.

The total land area of Bangladesh is 3.67 crore hectors of which 1.93 crore hectors, i.e. 53 percent remains arable. It appears that every year 82 thousand hectors of arable land decreases due to unplanned construction of houses, roads & highways, industries & factories. So 1 percent arable land decreases every year. If this trend continues, there will be no arable land in Bangladesh after 100 years.

As there is lacks in regulations, a wealthy person can purchase any type of land of any size, whether arable or fallow, to use it for any purpose, either building houses of industrial entities. As a result, we are losing thousands of acres of arable land.

Serious land related disputes prevailing in Bangladesh are actually man-made. Not only the land robbers are creating disorders but also the land administration, social system or culture are all about carrying coal to Newcastle. As a result, number of landless & homeless people is increasing geometrically. Adequate transparency & accountability are absent in case of land-tax collection, registration, mutation, correction of record, change of ownership, resisting the illegal occupation of land, preparation of list of landless people and establishing their rights in the newly risen char-land etc. Besides, the people have to ultimately face the problems of corruption in the settlement of khas lands, fake documentation, illegal correction of names, suffering in case of tax collection, unfair change of type of land, submission of report without investigation, wrong registration etc.

Observer & analyzer of agricultural technologies of various countries, renowned agricultural journalist and News Editor of `Channel i` of Bangladesh Mr. Shaikh Shiraj has noted that Government should have taken initiatives to save croplands long ago. Meanwhile, we have lost a great deal of time. Our population is increasing but our land is decreasing, which creates a pressure on food producing capacity of the country. Therefore, to recourse the current trend of loss of land and to meet the vast demand for food, Government should take various policy initiatives for preservation of arable land.

Unbearable traffic jam and Bangladesh in a stand-still
Due to unbearable traffic jam Bangladesh has become stand-still, the Bengalese remain standing on the road for hours. The world is moving ahead fast, whereas we are tired & exhausted of living a slow & shattered life. Traffic jam is stealing one third time of our life. As a result, it is not being possible to bring the growth of GDP to the desired level. Therefore, attempt to curb traffic jam is urgently needed not only to speed up transport communication but also to inject motion in all spheres of life. In this case the proposed Union-based model will bring easy solution to unendurable traffic jam problem. Implementation of this model will reduce present difference between rural & urban areas and people will feel more comfortable to live in Union-towns. As a result, there will be no traffic jam in the big cities of the country. As this model is a proposition to permanent solution of all national problems, it is necessary to discuss here few distinctive factors regarding the solution of traffic jam problem of the capital city.

It is natural that, in the places where people live and have their carriers, there would be traffic jam. Highly advanced nations have solved traffic jam problem along with other problems. However, we have failed to solve the traffic jam problem, as is said `The Bengalese can`t manage themselves`. In fact, there is no special magic in the solution to be prescribed for the traffic jam problem of Bengalese. Though new techniques are adopted for temporary solution, there is no alternative to the implementation of this model for permanent solution of traffic jam.

In some of my writings I have mentioned about few easy ways of solving unbearable traffic jam problem. Particularly ring road or circular road should be constructed around Dhaka city. Moreover there should be 2 level fly over (local transport at the ground level, highway vehicles in 1st level and train-tram in the 2nd level) ranging from Airport to Mohakhali-Moghbazar-Jatrabari and Mohakhali-Farmgate-Shahbagh route. Though there is massive lamentation about traffic jam, yet no attempt is visible to implement those proposals.

By this time technology has advanced further. So, following China or Japan we can also start `3D Express Coach`. The coach capable of carrying 1200 passengers will be run by solar energy. This coach will enable commuters to travel over all other vehicles; beneath that coach line other transports will run easily.

As many people are not clearly aware of the above mentioned problems, Campus has taken the initiative to raise awareness regarding these issues. If intellectuals & patriots of Bangladesh become conscious of these problems, my responsibility towards the society will lessen to some extent. I firmly believe that, the precondition for solving any problem is to create soldiers in the first place, who will be able to fight successfully against all odds. The war for the welfare of the country and conservation of the interest of humanity never goes in vain.

Towards a single solution of multidimensional problems
Whether natural or unnatural, political or social, in all dismal situations, poor ill-fated people are the worst affected. The responsibility of these effected people ultimately falls upon government and the rich segment of the society. Keeping these people behind, the government & the rich cannot move ahead. There are always some lags behind. Poverty makes life of the poor so miserable & vulnerable that they are incapable of coping with disasters on their own. Therefore, disaster management initiatives need to be associated with poverty alleviating programs. However, poverty is highly correlated with unemployment and hence, employment generation is needed to make poverty alleviation attempts successful. Moreover, various energy crises impede overall development planning. Thus we need a comprehensive development Model, which will not only generate sustainable protective or preventive mechanisms for disaster management but also will provide permanent solution to the problem of poverty. The pivot of such development initiatives should be the rural economy.
model

A Union-based comprehensive development plan has been proposed in this Model, which could be implemented to solve various national problems including poverty, disasters, unemployment, fuel & energy crisis and so on. Rural economy-based activities suggested in this Model may be carried out by taking into account the existing Union Council as the administrative & managerial unit. Current activities of the Union Council may be thoroughly restructured in that direction.

I have several alternative proposals for solving various national problems of Bangladesh including the problems of natural disaster & poverty. The proposed Model is one of them, which came in my mind when I was a student of Dhaka University during 1980s. I firmly believe that people who care for social development, will support this Model.

Under these circumstances, a comprehensive development Model has been proposed, which includes mechanisms for protection against inevitable natural disasters, saving the poor from aggravation of poverty, best use of scarce natural resources for economic development, providing solution to energy crisis and ensuring environmental protection. A Union-based development infrastructures or `Union town` may be initiated according to the Model proposed below. If this Model could be implemented properly, the poverty of the rural people would be eradicated as well as natural disasters could be tackled at ease. In all, the country & the nation would be well developed. I firmly believe that, my simple Model may be of worth considering for implementation if we give importance to collective interests instead of personal ones.

Formation of Union-based development
At present, the base of the local government is Union Council. An Upazilla (sub-district) is constituted by a number of Unions, while few Upazillas constitute a district. The Union-based development Model has been proposed to create social capital through mutual co-operation among the inhabitants of the Union and to build up Union-based towns for conducting rural economic activities. According to the proposed development Model, a Union Samitee (association) will be formed in every Union. This Samitee, as the local government, will be the focal point of all activities in any Union. Several Gram Samitee (village association) may be formed under every Union Samitee. The overall structure of this Model is in line with the current Union council system though the objectives, formation and rules of business are completely different (discussed later). Unions can be strengthened as units of administrative management of the Government with the ultimate goal of overall permanent development of the country.

Sectorwise land distribution of Union
The land of each Union, more or less, would be divided into six parts. One-sixth portion of the land will remain as the residential area; one-sixth will be used for the local administration (Union Council, conciliation court, police, community police center), health care center, hospital, school, college, market, training & media centre, park, play ground etc; one-sixth will remain for farm house (for breeding & rearing livestock, domestic animals, birds, fish etc.) and the remaining half of the total land will be used for production of crops.

Cultivation method and raw material based warehouse & factory
The cultivation will be done by a `collective farming system` as this is the best method for utilizing modern technology. Besides, crops would be produced in accordance with the quality and type of soil. The area where production of crop is less feasible, necessary crops may be imported from the areas, where surplus is available. If the soil of a Union is not favorable for cultivation of crops, that Union may be utilized for developing cottage industry and for production of non-agricultural commodities. Both agro-based industries & warehouses will be established within the vicinity of the croplands. The region where tomato is produced in abundance, tomato-juice-sauce-factory can be set up and where potato is produced in abundance, potato-based factory is to be set up. Similarly, factories are to be established for processing maize, wheat, sugarcane, mustard, groundnut, pineapple, water-melon, soybean, carrot, papaya, banana, lemon, bean, mushroom etc. Several livestock farms will also be established in every Union.

Production of electricity & gas
In the proposed development Model, bio-gas plants will be established in livestock farms. Bio-gas can be produced from the excrement of human beings, birds & animals. This bio-gas plants may be connected with the toilets of the residential area. These plants would be helpful for both electricity & fuel generation.

Union-towns (Flats, shopping centers and public facility)
All buildings in a Union will be of six storied with shock resistance ability. But for their future extension, foundation of these buildings must be of 10/15 storied. The ground floor will be kept vacant (as protection from flood & tidal bore along with various utility services with garage facility) and there will be two apartments in each of the remaining five floors. Two sides of each apartment will remain open. Thus 10 families will be able to live in every building. A Gram Samitee may be formed comprising around 200 families or inhabitants of 20 residential buildings. This Samitee will have an office, an auditorium or community center, a playground, a park, a prayer house, a super-store along with a pharmacy, one physician, two nurses and other materials as needed on emergency.

One or more primary & secondary schools and colleges will be established at the Union Center while university, technical college & medical college should be set up at the Upazilla or District Headquarters. In each Union Center, there will be a market for commercial activities along with cyber cafe, call center, public training & media centre, super shop & shopping mall.

Roads & highways
In this Model, there will not be any zigzag narrow road. Rather, straight inter-union roads will be built with 2/3 lanes. These roads will be linked with highways towards Upazillas & Districts. These straight roads would be useful to carry excess crops, livestock and other essential products from Unions to district towns and divisional cities in a short span of time. City dwellers will get fresh crops at cheap rate; while growers will be able to get reasonable price for their yields.

Afforestation & ecological balance
Fruit, medicine and forest trees will be planted by two sides of all roads & highways in a Union under the supervision of the Samitee. Trees will also be planted alongside the borders around the Union. Moreover, roofs of all buildings will be utilized as gardens of fruits, flowers, medicinal plants in one hand and for establishing solar power plants (discussed below) on the other. In addition to scattered plantation of various trees, afforestation in 20 percent land of the Union will be ensured so that ecological balance is sustained and the country itself be economically benefited.

Water & wind management
The residential & farming structure of this Model will be planned in such a way that must not affect human lives & livestock during cyclone & tidal bore. tarbain

Besides, strong walls should be constructed around the coastal Unions as an extra measure for resisting the onrushing tidal bore during the cyclones. There will be some sluice gates at different parts of the wall, which will control the entry of flood water & tidal bore. In this connection, the expertise and cooperation of the Netherlands can be utilized. Thus the water & wind management system will be such that the storms will be used for producing electricity & cyclones will be utilized for irrigation i.e., people at that point will treat the curse of cyclone & tidal bores as blessings to them.

Effectiveness of the Union-based Development Model for fighting natural calamities
The proposed Model is designed in such a way that people will remain free from the devastating effects of flood, cyclone & tidal bore as they will be living in buildings. As a result, there will be no fear of loss of life. The flood or tidal bore will not be able to get inside the Unions as all around the coastal Unions there will be well built walls having sluice gates. Hence, this Model, if implemented properly, will bring about a revolutionary change in livelihood of the people of Bangladesh.

Permanent solution to electricity & energy crisis by developing bio-gas plants, wind mills and solar centres
Currently rush of water during storms & cyclones is considered to be a curse. But this curse may be transformed into a blessing by utilizing our intelligence to manage wind & water energy. Wind & water management plan in the proposed Model will include mechanisms for producing electricity and expediting agricultural production. We may follow the example of Holland to manage water, while the idea of ‘electricity farming’ presented in this Model may be followed.

The technology of producing electricity by winding turbines is quite an old idea, but we are yet to start this in Bangladesh. Following this technology, electricity is being produced from wind in many cities including the Rockport City of the USA. After meeting its demand, Rockport even supplies electricity to other cities. Though 75 turbines have been set up in Rockport, only 4 turbines are needed for meeting the electricity requirement of that city. Missouri Government earns $1.1 million tax per year from this electricity generating project. Not only in USA, many countries in Europe produce electricity by moving turbine i.e. by wind power. The science of meeting people’s demand with natural elements or power is not new to the people.

Many a lands in char regions of Bangladesh remains idle year after year, where no crop is produced but strong wind blows over the area. In such lands, turbines may be set up to produce electricity. Rather than adopting easy process of producing electricity following USA or Europe, the policy-makers of Bangladesh are just briefing the journalists in the big air-conditioned conference room. They are not implementing new electricity projects; rather they are consuming the electricity and leaving the old plants empty in the process of planning. The PDB has no time to arrange electricity for the general people like ours while they are busy with arranging electricity for the bureaucrats!

We may build lines of windmills in char & coastal areas. Moreover, windmills may be set up along with the borders of suitable Unions. Under the high pillars of windmills, different valuable trees can be planted. This will not only maintain the ecological balance, but will also increase the supply of valuable wood. This initiative will supply raw materials to our furniture industry, which may even be exported to earn foreign exchange. The people of char-land may be saved from thunders by windmill panels. Moreover, the electricity produced by the windmills in the char & coastal regions, may be supplied to other regions after meeting the local demand. This electricity may be extensively used for both domestic & industrial purposes. Even electricity may be exported for earning foreign exchange. Our policy-makers should give immediate attention to the issue.

In addition to electricity generation by water power, use of solar power for generating electricity is also becoming popular. Solar energy may be used as a substitute of oil, though further research is needed for achieving efficiency in use of this energy. Therefore, establishment of a solar power center is adopted in the proposed development Model. According to this Model, all residential buildings in a Union will be of equal height, so that solar power plants can be set up on the roofs of those buildings. These solar power plants will supply electricity for residential, agricultural & industrial uses.

Recently a firm in Denmark has invented a 35 feet long speedboat that is run by solar energy. Since 2005 North America is arranging racing competition of cars run by solar energy. These cars have to run 2400 miles. Many also know about the world tour from Luzerne of Switzerland by ‘Solar Taxi (www.solartaxi.com). This solar energy driven taxi has easily crossed 52 thousand km covering 38 countries. Even one ordinary Bangladeshi Amir Hossain of Bogra district has recently invented a special car named ‘Rof Rof Tahia’ which can be driven without petrol-Mobil. He has shown to the intellectuals that, big scarcity & problems can be solved just by culturing the brain.

Recently in Copenhagen of Denmark, The Crown Hotel has introduced a new system of generating electricity. In this hotel, the guests are given free token of food worth 36 US dollars, if they generate 10 watts electricity by cycling for 15 minutes. The cycle has i-phone attached to it by which quantity of electricity generation can be ascertained. By cycling in this way 3 goals are achieved- a) passing distance, b) physical exercise & electricity generation and c) financial gain. It is to be mentioned that 36% of the working people of that city go to the working place by cycling. In this way, wide scale use of solar energy and developing concentrated solar energy system can lessen the madness of the world leaders to get hold of sources of energy.

Electricity may also be generated by establishing bio-gas plants. For example, a successful bio-gas plant has been developed at the Muslim Mission in Faridpur, which produces electricity from human excreta and cowdung. This plant is helping the organization to meet demand for electricity & energy from its own source. Thus electricity generated from wind, solar energy, bio-gas and hydro-power not only will run the tube-lights, fan or machines of factories, but will also run the wheels of our national economy. As our coal and natural gas resources are being depleted fast, we need to act now to ensure alternate energy supply in the long run. We should opt for alternative sources of energy, as has been proposed in this Model.

Pessimists & fools keep on saying that, development programs of Bangladesh go in vain due to the tremendous population pressure. But they are not ready to admit that, due to mismanagement of the Government & the social leaders, these God gifted people remain undisciplined and are making chaos. If these people can be engaged in productive activities, they will be proved constructive and most valuable assets in the universe. If preplanned, only the excrement & urine of the vast population can be utilized to solve many problems. We know for long that electricity, gas & manure can be produced from the excrement of human & animal, but in practice we do not utilize this knowledge.

Here ends the tale of arranging electricity in rural area. There are manifold opportunities to arrange electricity for urban area. With different ideas of scholars, I would like to add one more, i.e. the possibility of generating electricity from urine. In future, it will be possible to drive cars of a capital city by using urine of the inhabitants of that city. The Scientist of Ohio University of USA has invented a new technology in this regard. As per their newly invented technology, urine-energy driven cars will be marketed soon. In this method the scientists will use electrodes with nickel so as to produce hydrogen energy at cheap rate.

The nation would have to face intense crisis, if the problem of meeting electricity demand is solved artificially with the only consideration of win & defeat in the election. What will happen, if the main elements of producing electricity, gas & coal are exhausted after 20 years? Therefore, if we do not take urgent steps to generate electricity naturally by utilizing solar energy (which is used intensively in Uzbekistan), human excrement and windmills to solve the severe problem of electricity, this nation with great prospect will never be able to stand erect. Thus permanent solution to all problems created by man & nature is rooted in the implementation of this Union-based development model.

There is energy crisis all over the world. Both civil & military use of transports by land, water & air has been increasing by and large. On the other hand, the reserve of coal, gas & petrol is dwindling to a great extent. The anxiety about future exhaustion of the reserve of these mineral resources crops up crisis among nations, leads to conflicts & war all over the world for accessing natural resources. Oil politics has compelled the world leaders to take frantic initiatives, as they are forcibly occupying oil rich countries one by one.

The attempt of forcible occupation of other’s land could never bring peace. Rather initiators of such wars lose their own wealth as well as destroy wealth of the world. They create world crisis that increases prices of oil & Dollar and cause chaos & misery of general people. In the name of war, the demons with destructive weapon-power persecute and kill unarmed innocent people indiscriminately. At this backdrop, we should destroy the root of war. It is often observed that, conflicts over energy cause many wars. Therefore, we should not let conflicts over energy reserves to continue, rather we should initiate more research for extracting nature’s boon to generate energy for our welfare.

Thus energy produced by bio-gas plants, windmill, solar power and water power will not only cater to the household demand for electricity, rather electricity produced according to the proposals of this Model will swiftly move ahead the wheels of our economy. Former energy advisor of Bangladesh Government Dr. M Tamim declared proudly that Bangladesh has reserve of gas for 20 years. However, there was no indication in his declaration regarding the situation after 20 years. Once our energy resources are depleted, even the rich countries will not come forward to our salvage, as they will remain busy to meet their own energy crisis. Therefore, this Model has been developed to eliminate all imbalances & autocracy from the society.

Building Union Samitee or Union Council
The proposed Model may be easily implemented immediately in the Char lands rising out of sea bed, which are public property (khas land). Initially it is necessary to build Union-towns as Model in these lands. This will resolve the problem of reservation of some land owners of existing Unions in implementing the Model as they might fear that adoption of this Model will abolish their ownership of land. Observing successful piloting of the Model in Unions dominated by government owned lands, people of other Unions will come forward to adopt this Model also in their areas so that they may ensure sustainable development of their motherland and betterment of their future generation. According to this development Model, collective farming will be ensured. In that respect, ownership of the land can be preserved in two alternative ways. Firstly, no one will be the owner of land directly but the Union Samitee, as the local government, will be the owner. As per ownership of the land at present, landowners will be the shareholders of the Union Samitee.

This system is similar to the agreement between land owners & developers in case of constructing apartments. The proposed Union Samitee may be constituted following the existing process of developing small length cities in Dhaka & Chittagong such as Pink City, Concord Lake City, Satellite City, Digital City etc. In the existing system, an owner of a one-story or two-storied building hands over his/her house & land to the developer and in return, receives 50 apartments out of 100 apartments built on that land. Also the owner receives a handsome amount of cash as onetime payment during the contract. Similarly, in the proposed Union Samitee, the land owner may be benefited by handing over his land ownership to the Samittee.

Secondly, the title of the land ownership will be retained with the land owners, but the land is to be leased out to the Samitee for 50 to 100 years and they will be the shareholders or bond owners. They will make sure or declare to this effect that none of them will take unilateral decision bypassing the Samitee. But in this resolution, facilities of the land owners will not be overlooked or ignored under any circumstance.

The Union Samitee will consist of permanent inhabitants or voters of the respective Union. The more land a person owns at present, the more number of shares will be owned by that person. The shares will be given in terms of katha, decimal or any other unit of land measurement. A landless person will also be included as a member of the Samitee, who will have the right to vote but will not be a shareholder and will not get share dividends.

Landless persons will be service holders in the Samitee. They will earn their livelihood in exchange of their service or labor. However, the Union Samitee will have to ensure employment for unemployed persons according to their ability & quality. On the basis of recommendations of Gram Samitee or Sub-Samitee, the Union Samitee will make necessary arrangements for employment. Thus jobs will be available at the local agricultural farm, factories, business centers, schools, colleges, hospitals, training centers, court, security etc.

Shares of the Union Samitee will be exchangeable. If a landless person becomes a tax payer, able to pay taxes in full through honest earning, s/he will be able to buy a share from another shareholder and will be able to enjoy all rights & facilities of a shareholder. The landless people will be offered residential apartments with renewable lease for 25/50 years.

The Union Samitee may be formed like a commercial company or as municipality. But its mission will be aimed at developing the Union by rendering equal service to all members of the Samitee and to maximize social wealth. The success of the Samitee will be decided not by its ability to make profit but by its capacity to maximize social wealth.

Structure of Union Samitee & civic rights
The Union Samitee or Union Council will consist of general members & shareholders. They will form the Union Council for their own interest by casting their votes. The Union Council may be formed by 21 or 31 or even by 51 members depending on the total number of members of the Union Samitee. In every village there may be a Gram Samitee, which will work under the supervision of the Union Council. A Gram Samitee may have 5 or 7 executive members elected or selected from its members. Politically oriented participation in the Union Parisad Election is undesirable.

Under the Union Council, there will be a staff-board comprising officers & staffs to conduct day-to-day works of the Council. The Chief Executive of the board will be a person born and brought up in another region. Even at the initial stage, a qualified foreigner may be appointed in this position. In a Union Council, there will be several Sub-Councils for undertaking different activities. For instance, Agricultural Sub-Council will supervise agricultural activities and take necessary decisions. Similarly, there will be Livestock Farm Sub-Council, Factory & Market Sub-Council, Health & Education Sub-Council, Social Sub-Council (concerning practice of religion and its facilities, old-home and conducting other service-oriented activities), Conciliation Court & Security Sub-Council (for reconciliatory measures among the conflicting inhabitants of the Union, enquiry of the conflict and taking remedial measures and formation of guards for internal security and its administration).

The general members of the society do not need to pay tax as they are landless, but they have to pay value added tax (VAT) for consuming goods. Moreover, service holders will pay tax on their taxable income. The shareholders will basically pay Union tax beside small amount of tax for the district and central government. Transparency & accountability of development projects run by tax money will be ensured.

Modern & permanent dwellings
The residential area will be divided into three segments. One segment will be kept for shareholders & taxpayers, another for the landless & general people and the other segment will remain for the alien people who are part of the administration but not members of the Samitee. For these three groups of people, three types of residential buildings or apartments with different facilities will be built. These apartments will be equipped with supply of arsenic-free pure drinking water and locally produced bio-gas & electricity. As gas & electricity will be supplied on a non-commercial basis, only a nominal price will be paid by the residents.

I have mentioned in the introduction of this Model that the poor cannot stand freely due to their unstable & dilapidated housing system; as such social restlessness cannot be brought under control. So, the poor community will be permanently saved from the crisis of flood-cyclone-tidal bore & earth-quake along with poverty alleviation if permanent & modern housing system is introduced as per this Model. The rich also will get social peace & tranquility after establishment of social balance & justice.

Education
Both general education at the school level and religious education will be compulsory in the Union. There will be freedom in college education and religious practice. Education system at the school level will ensure equal opportunity for all. There should be area-wise schooling system. Thus schools should be set up within the vicinity of the residential area so that guardians need not waste their time & money and worry about the security of their wards. No transport for the students of schools will be needed and thus there will not be traffic jam. The teachers of different locality will lead their students in groups on their way to school marching & singing the patriotic songs and the songs of life. Similarly, at the end of school-hours, the teachers will bring the students back home. The students will be imbued with patriotic zeal and thus learn discipline from their childhood. Such area-based schooling will solve many a national problems. It will save the fuel cost and also there will be no traffic congestion. It will automatically solve some economic problems too and build up a strong foundation of qualitative education that would be helpful to frame the structure of higher & pragmatic education.

How our nation will be assisted by Areawise Schooling
1. No transportation will be necessary to commute to school, as a result there will be no traffic jam as well as road accident will be lessened;
2. Import of fuel and misuse of gas will be stopped, foreign currency will be saved and wastage of national wealth will be lessened;
3. As there would be no transportation problem & cost, the guardians will have no tension for the children; expenditure in this regard would also be lessened;
4. Corruption of parents for using office automobile for their offspring will be stopped;
5. Devastation of time & labor of parents and students will be prevented;
6. Guardians will be serious to the development of the local schools for the sake of offsprings; there will be no need to send the offsprings to any town or abroad;
7. As there would be no admission test, there would be no admission-corruption;
8. There would be no coaching business in school level and education-business would be checked.
9. As private tuition & coaching would not be necessary, commuting for these purposes would not be required; as such there would be no traffic jam;
10. There will be no drop-out from school; crime relating to teasing & drugs among adolescents will be lessened;
11. Fundamental education will be ensured; it will be easy to learn discipline, patriotism, compassion, team-spirit, sharing, smartness etc. from early age;
12. As discrimination in education system would be lessened, social class discrimination will also decrease;
13. As a whole, standard and environment of school-education will be developed;
14. It will be possible to keep the correct statistics of the child birth and rate of growth;
15. It will be easy to build a meritorious & intellectual nation and a knowledge-based society.

On the strong foundation of the primary education, the structure of higher education will be built, in which only the meritorious students would be able to get in. This educated & trained meritorious people will lead the nation, administration, politics, education, research etc. One such meritorious genre can easily transform the society, country, even the world itself into a beautiful & peaceful human abode. Thus implementation of this Union-based development Model will consequentially ensure a meritorious generation and appropriate leadership everywhere.

Employment
Employment generation is a major concern to combat poverty. In Bangladesh, there is scarcity in employment opportunities and decrease of real income in one hand, while on the other hand, sky-high price-hike of essential commodities puts extra pressure on poor people. Realization of the proposed Model will create widespread employment opportunities in different agro-farms, factories, offices, educational institutions, hospital, business centers and security establishments of Union Samitee. Besides, in the Union center there will be cyber cafe, call-centers & training centers.

In Unions with higher population density, higher number of computer center, call center and labor intensive industries like garments will be established. These computer & call centers will provide large number of employment opportunities to the unemployed people. In this way, the unemployment problem will be reduced to a minimum and income of the Union Samitee will rise. Moreover, revenues to the Government exchequer will increase.

In fact, influx of population becomes a problem only in countries, where policies are weak in developing a well-organized employment generation system. The same population becomes the wealth of a nation provided there is ablest leadership. It was natural for population-blessed Bangladesh to appear as an enviable country long ago, as is the case with China, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia or Thailand, who know how to employ people properly. It is not impossible for a country having huge population to appear as a strong nation in the world. Large population indicates large market, large investment opportunities, large production, large sale and large profit as well as strong power in the world dimension.

Justice
Common people now have to face many odds when they approach the Police station or the Court to protest or for redress against social injustice & torture. So in this Model arbitration courts will be set up at the doorstep of people. Any complaint or conflict or a matter of arbitration will be submitted to the Gram-Samitee. If it is not solved there, the same will be sent to the arbitration and security sub-council of the Union Samitee. If the Union Samitee fails to dispose of the matter, the case may be forwarded to the Upazilla Court. Thus the case might follow suit to District Judges’ Court or High Court and up to the Supreme Court for disposal.

Public training & Media center
Public training & media center will continuously work for conservation of physical & mental health, self-advancement and skill development of inhabitants of the Union. Alongside there will be training & motivation programs for improvement of human values like patriotism, unity, social manner, ideals etc. Thus various programming on human warring required for a worthy life will be arranged. Likewise, there will be arrangement for intensive training on agriculture, health, food habit, food management and many such issues.

For example, half-educated & uneducated persons will be trained on methods to cure & prevent diseases by taking herbal food & medicine; maintain self sufficiency in food by changing food habit and improvement of food management. Similarly there will be arrangement in this training center to make people trained & motivated for an advanced & modern life based on science. This will also be used as information center for necessary information of the inhabitants of the Union.

If somebody considers the implementation of this Union-based Model to be far-lying, then NGOs under the leadership of Government can establish such media centers throughout the country. By implementing these timely programs a knowledge based enlightened nation may be built within a short span of time. There is no alternative of training & motivation so as to build a bright, energetic & enlightened nation, implementation of which only requires an enlightened Government.

Health-care, Hospital facilities and Birth control
In each Union hospital, high standard health care facilities will be available for all. Besides, the health center of the Union Samitee will maintain a computerized record of health related information of each member of the Samitee. If needed, health history and other relevant information of any member may easily be obtained from the record. Every member will have a health card. Information on all medical treatments, medicines administered will be recorded in this card. If any person moves from one Union to the other, his/her health data will be transferred to the new Union. To control population, the system of not having more than 2 children may be encouraged. However, if there are more than 3 issues in a family, then facilities may be curtailed for that family or the family may be brought under higher tax burden.

In each Union center arrangements will be made for park, playground, old-home along with many other facilities for the citizens. These facilities will be so alluring that the rich will also feel more comfortable to live in Union-centers rather than staying in congested city centers of Dhaka or Chittagong. As a result there will not be any sufferings of people in the streets of Dhaka-Chittagong and other big cities.

Union-based Town
Plan for implementation of the Model
If this Model is approved by the policy-makers as a means of quick & revolutionary development of the country & the nation, then its implementation is a tripling matter. It can be implemented by many alternative measures. For any error or rise of confusion in implementing the Model, it will also be an error to question the sincerity of the aims of this Model.

There is clear direction of implementing this Model in the process of forming the Union Samitee. In that light to implement the above-mentioned Model, Government initiatives & management are needed. There may be resistance from the land owners if implementation of the Model is started in congested areas. Some land owners may not trust the development mechanism and may become confused to take part in the system. Therefore, initially the Model may be implemented in char areas near the sea and in Government owned khas land. Also two least populated Unions of the coastal districts or 4 Unions in 4 different parts of the country can be selected for experimental implementation of this Model. If such experimental implementation of the Model becomes successful, land owners of other unions will automatically come forward to form Union Samitee. Expatriate Bangladeshies & foreigners will come forward to implement the Model. In this case, giant real estate developers at the national & international levels may take the responsibility of implementing this model. Even if Government takes initiative for Union-based development by taking loan from foreign donors or banks; that loan could be repaid within 5 to 6 years from the dividend of the Union Parisad.

This Model may be implemented immediately in the 60 square kilometer rising new land between the estuary of the river Meghna & the Bay of Bengal between Noakhali & Chittagong areas and 10 square kilometer rising land in Keshobpur of Jessore district. Within the next 20 years further 600 square kilometer land is expected to be added in the coastal areas of Bangladesh, which may be utilized for implementation of this Model. Illegal occupiers have already constructed buildings and other establishments in the vast land of new chars in the border of Noakhali district called Char Ziauddin, Char Clark & Char Bata. They have also established several fish farms. Still there is vacant land remained fallow & useless in those chars. Now this desolate barren chars can be of great use to implement the aforementioned Model at the earliest. By proper utilization of this land, the economic condition of Bangladesh will improve to a great extent. This vast rising land on river & sea-bed may work as the economic hinterland of Bangladesh. The sooner the policy-makers of Bangladesh realize this, the brighter would be the economical-social & political development prospect of the country.

If there is any doubt of the Government that, land owners are unwilling to the implementation of this Model in the densely populated area, then there is no bar to implement this Model in newly risen char-land from river or sea. One major benefit of implementing this Model is to ensure traffic-jam free environment in cities like Dhaka or Chittagong. People will be able to access all civic facilities within the locality and thus the cities will become free from congestions & traffic jam.

On the very success of the experimental implementation of this Model in char lands and in the coastal & river side areas, the people will spontaneously be inspired & eager to come forward to replicate this welfare-oriented Model in other parts of the country. At that stage, it will become easier to implement this Model first in the Unions of the coastal regions and gradually in the whole country. As the philosophy of the Model will spread fast, its implementation will be easier. However, the sooner the Model is implemented in the coastal regions, the easier will be disaster management in those areas and the people living there will be benefited as they will be protected from cyclones & tidal bore.

Goals to be achieved by the Model
1. Rural development, poverty alleviation and reduction of class-discrimination etc;
2. Attaining permanent self-sufficiency in production of gas, electricity & fuel and ability to export those;
3. Facing natural disasters like flood, cyclone, earth-quake and protection of ecological balance;
4. Quality education and health facilities for all;
5. Developing char-lands raised from sea & river-bed as strong hinterland of extensive economic activities;
6. Abolition of demarcation lines of agricultural land, reclamation of fragmented land, preservation of land map, extension of agricultural land, manifold increase of agricultural production by means of scientific & modern system of planned cultivation;
7. Generating Union-based employment opportunities to downsize pressure of city-bound flow of people; relief from unbearable traffic jam, equal & harmonious development for the whole country;
8. Solution to unemployment problem, transforming the population into human resource, ensuring developed & modern life for all citizens including marginal inhabitants, creation of an active, smart & bright nation free from tension & frustration;
9. Establishment of transparency, accountability, good governance, discipline, social values, patriotism, justice & humanity through planned & scientific development; to achieve a knowledge-based just society and enlightened nation;
10. Graduating Bangladesh into a rich country of the world within 15 years;

Towards a wealthy Bangladesh in 15 years

Bangladesh possesses fertile land and temperate climate that is suitable for cultivation of a variety of seasonal crops & fruits. It is the demand of time to work out possible ways of widespread increase in agricultural production as well as ensuring sustainable & permanent dwelling system for the peasants. Nowadays scientific farming & cultivation is advisable. Modern method of cultivation will facilitate us to feed the nation by the output received from cultivating half of the arable land and the yield from livestock farms. Due to gross negligence & carelessness and usage of old unscientific method of farming, most of the agricultural land in Bangladesh does not bring forth the amount of crops as it were yielding earlier. So we have to put our best effort to increase the productivity of agricultural land by using modern scientific method. This, however, requires establishment of the proposed Union Samitees. In this respect, the more we lag behind the poorer we become. Not only for agriculture but also for industrialization, land is an indispensable factor. The way our land is lost or wasted at present, both our agricultural development and potentiality of our industrialization will suffer in future. As opined by Novelist Muhammad Jafar Iqbal- ‘Bangladesh will be the dustbin of the world?’.

If the Government is co-operative and bureaucratic complexities are lessened, the private sector will come forward to follow modern cultivation technology and increase agricultural productivity. For instance, a new type of guava, popularly called Kazi guava, which is abundantly available in Dhaka, was first initiated by a common person named Kazii Babu. This type of guava is now the source of income for many people. It appears that government assistance instead of bureaucratic impediments can encourage the meritorious people of Bangladesh to work for making the nation a progressive & developed one. In this case the leading crop producing countries like Thailand, Philippines, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia, Japan and Italy may be followed.

To protect Bangladesh from devastating effects of future natural disasters, various donors including UNDP have expressed eagerness for providing assistance and in this respect they require permanent & durable project-pro-forma from the government of Bangladesh. To the best of my knowledge, Bangladesh Government does not have any coordinated proposal or planning, which encompasses solution to various national problems and ensures rural development. I believe that this Model of establishing Union-based town will be helpful to the welfare initiatives of the Government.

Recent archaeological findings at the Wari-Bateshwar of Narsingdi district of Bangladesh have received much attention in home & abroad. This discovery has indicated a similarity between the civilization in this area and legendary Roman civilization. Such a finding is definitely a sign of our rich heritage. Even before the discovery of the Wari-Bateshwar archaeological findings, we have heard about the rich history of Bengal & Bengalese. However, we are wasting our present just by being proud of the wealthy history of our forefathers, while neglecting our duties for present development. In this way, we are ruining our future. Earlier many countries of the world were far behind Bangladesh in terms of economic development, but they have now become much more advanced than us. A huge gap prevails between the development status of those countries and that of Bangladesh. “Where had we been?”, “Where are we?” and “Where are we going? “ -these three questions have been discussed many a times. Now, therefore, it is more important to think about “Where to go?” and “How to go?” By keeping ourselves busy in proclaiming our past glory, we may arrive at a state where there will be no rice to eat, no gas to cook, no electricity to enlighten, no petrol in the oil pump, no crop in the field. Thus it is barren everywhere. Hence we are to prepare ourselves at present for making our future a success.

In one hand there is hue & cry for encaging all corruptions, on the other there is rush to free the corruptions, such self contradictory is the role of our policy makers. This culture was althrough obstacle in changing the lot of Bengalese and still it prevails. The condition of ruler & saver of Bengalese is that whoever gets the power, behaves in the same manner. Democracy has been turned into partycracy, benifitcracy & leasecracy. Only one person remains at the top power of State & the Government, who can frame the ‘Yes sir council’ with any body, he likes. These council members remain very busy with flattering of the leaders; leaving aside their duties to the common people. Party, democracy, State- these 3 concepts have been amalgamated in this country. As such the hypocracy of some political parties in the name of public welfare is keeping those parties alive, politics alive but not moving the country ahead. For directing the country towards the right way of development, a Model of explicit aim is necessary to be undertaken.

In one hand zero-capital & profitable politico-business, on the other existence of unskilled leadership in all sectors, has now compelled the Bengalese to find out the alternate rope of lot. There are many ropes of lot, the preferable one is to be selected correctly. Now is the time to sit with alertness and to wake up.

In spite of being a toy of nature, we may use the power of mother-nature with our intelligence for the welfare of the mankind. By this philosophy all darkness of the country & the nation would have to be removed by the light of knowledge. As soon as the patriotic & meritorious sons & daughters of the soil get united, such a creative and welfare-oriented program can easily be accomplished.

We may follow the examples of the East Asian Tigers like Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea & Thailand those had been lagging behind us in wealth & prosperity only four decades back. Considering their present state of development, we can plan for implementing the proposed Model in 15 years time. I firmly believe that within 15 years, implementation of this development Model will turn Bangladesh into a modern Model-State in the world.

Patriotic Bengali-friends, wherever you are and however you are doing, come forward, be vocal to implement this Model; be cooperative & supportive. Come forward to build a prosperous nation ever enlightened, ever bright and ever free from all sorts of backwardness & frustration. Let all good endeavors be a success.

[Your kind opinion & suggestion will be helpful to publish the next edition.]

M Helal
e-mail: m7helal@yahoo.com
campus2025@yahoo.com
Tel: +88-02-9550055, 9560225;
Fax: +88-02-9577301