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Government wants to control traffic in Dhaka digitally: Prime Minister 

 

Human Rights Report
Prime Minister and Leader of the House Sheikh Hasina on Wednes said her government wants to control traffic signal digitally to ease traffic jam in the capital.
"We want to control traffic in Dhaka city electronically and digitally… some parts of the capital have already been brought under such a system and if the system is introduced in rest of the parts, the sufferings of the people will be reduced to a great extent," she said.
The prime minister was replying to a supplementary raised by Jatiya Party lawmaker Kazi Feroz Rashid in the House during her question-answer session with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.
The Leader of the House said her government has reintroduced automatic signalling system in Dhaka city which almost went out of order previously.
She said traffic could be controlled manually in some cases, but there are allegations that this system is applied in some areas for a long time.
"So I would like to tell the authorities, which control traffic signal, not to hold vehicles for so much time," she said.
The Leader of the House said the traffics in Dhaka city are now struggling to control signal due to pressure of huge number of vehicles. "But traffic jam will be reduced to a great extent if digital system is introduced in the entire city," she said.








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BHRC & IHRC Human Rights Report on February 2019 in Bangladesh

Total 181 persons killed in February 2019

Human Rights Report:

The documentation section of Bangladesh Human Rights Commission (BHRC) and International Human Rights Commission-IHRC jointly furnished this human rights survey report on the basis of daily newspapers and information received from its district, sub-district and municipal branches. As per survey it appears that 181 peoples were killed in February, 2019 in all over the country. It proves that the law and order situation is not satisfactory. Bangladesh Human Rights Commissions extremely anxious about this situation. In the month of February, 2019 average 6 people were killed in each day.
The Law enforcing agencies and related Govt. departments should be more responsible so that percentage of killing February be brought down to zero level. To institutionalize the democracy and to build human rights based society the rule of law and order must be established everywhere. Through enforcing rule of law only such violation against human rights can be minimized.
It appears from documentation division of BHRC:
Total 181 person killed in February 2019
Killing for dowry 3, killing by family violence 17, Killed due to social discrepancy 38, Political killing 7, Killed by Law enforcing authority 22, Killed due to BSF 5, Killed due to doctor negligence 4, Abduction 4, Assassination 5, Mysterious death 35, Women & Chilled killed due to rape 4, Killed by Acid throwing 2.
Killed by several accidents: Killed by road accident 273, Suicide 11.
Besides victims of torture:
Rape 20, Sexual Harassment 6, Torture for Dowry 4, Acid throwing 1, Journalist torture 1.




 

Bangladesh seeks continued French support for safe return of Rohingyas

Human Rights Report:
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday sought continued French support to create conducive environment inside the Rakhine State of Myanmar for their dignified return in safety and security.
"France-South East Asia," the Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group, headed by the Senator and President Jacky Deromedi, met the Foreign Minister at his office and discussed the issue.
The French inter-parliamentary delegation highly appreciated the significant support that was extended by Bangladesh to the Rohingya people.
The French delegation assured to continue supporting the cause of the Rohingyas.
Foreign Minister appreciated the existing excellent mutual understanding between Bangladesh and France on the important issues like climate change and peacekeeping.
He also urged the French businessmen and investors to invest in Bangladesh in energy, infrastructure and other sectors also and for taking the advantages of the country's demographic dividend and attractive packages that are on offer in 100 Special Economic Zones (SEZ).
The French inter-parliamentary delegation appreciated the impressive development in Bangladesh and expressed their interest to organize a Business Forum within French parliament, engaging the French business community, where Bangladesh could showcase the huge economic and business opportunities that currently exist in Bangladesh.
The other members of the delegation are Jerome Durian, President of the Bangladesh sub-group, Simon Sutour, Senator of Gard Region and Anne Laure Saint-Dizier, Executive and Secretary of the Senate House.
The Group covers six ASEAN countries (Burma/Myanmar, Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand) and Bangladesh.
Welcoming the delegation Foreign Minister Momen thanked the delegation for visiting Bangladesh.
Referring to French support during our Liberation War in 1971, he fondly recalled the important contribution made by renowned French intellectual and politician Andre Malraux during and after the Liberation War of Bangladesh.
He also praised France and her people for being the beacon of democracy for freedom loving people across the world.
Earlier on Wednesday, the delegation met Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, MP and the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs.


 

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Estimating Women's Contribution to the Economy  
 

Afsan Chowdhury

In developing world, women comprise half of the entire population and they are the poorest of the poor not merely in wealth but in every other index of development. In relation to 55% women are directly or indirectly attached with agricultural activities around the world. On the basis of women's role in mainstream economy; Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) had published a research based manuscript on "Estimating Women's Contribution to the Economy: The Case of Bangladesh" in 2015.
This volume is edited by Fahmida Khatun, Towfiqul Islam Khan, Shahida pervin and Hosna Jahan. Researchers explain women i the economy of Bangladesh, estimate time spent by both women and men on all types of daily activities, economic value of woman's uncounted activities, generate recommendations to clarify the woman's status in the family and society.
Writers elucidate the employment status by sex and location. In national level, regular paid female employee 21.8%, self-employed and employee 56%, day labourer 6.9% and others 15.3%. Author critically explains the divisional labour force distribution in Bangladesh which are - Barisal, male(2.3%) & female(7.4%); Chittagong, male(2.9%) & female(2.5%); Dhaka, male(1.8%) & female(8.1); Khulna, male(2.8%) & female(7.9%); Rajshahi, male( 2.5%) & female(7.6%); Rangpur, male( 2.4%) & female(7.6%) and finally Sylhet, male(2.9%) & female(7.3%).
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that, 37 million people in the developing world suffered acute or chronic poisoning due to exposure to toxic pesticides. Women are usually at greater risk of sickness or morbidity due to pesticide poisoning than men because they are more likely to work without protective equipments and are less aware about the harmful consequences of such chemicals.
This book may contribute to decreasing the workload of women in the household, increase accessibility to drinking water and natural gas for cooking. Women collect essential items ? fruits, vegetables, medicinal herbs, fuel wood, fodder, water, etc. As forest products provide the basic needs of the family, women have a close relationship with the forest. They know how to plant trees, take care of gardens and domestic animals.
Collection of water is solely within the domain of women and girls. They are responsible for collecting water and for controlling its use. It is the women who have the knowledge of the location, reliability and quality of the local water resources. Women are in close contact with nature not only as consumers but also as producers and managers of natural resources.
Researchers recommend eliminating wage discrimination against women, NGO's role in women's physical, mental health improvement. Writers advise to policy makers and politicians to form policies which are helpful for women. University studies should emphasize research on women's right and their health status, economic efficiency, social recognition, political participation, authors explain.
This book is very much fundamental for the women's & gender studies researchers, development planners, students of economics, social sciences and political sciences.
 

 

Sustainable Development through Environmental Protection  

S. M. Rayhanul Islam

Sustainable Development and Environmental Issues. Published by: Commonwealth Secretariat, London
We now live in a modern, consumerist and largely urbanized world where environmental protection is a key concern of the future of humanity. Economists, environmentalists, development professionals and academics nowadays are very concerned about the problems originated when taking efforts to promote development ignoring the environmental dimensions of development. In the 1980s, the term 'sustainable development' started to be used to describe development which takes account of environmental consequences. So, when we talk about 'sustainable development' we are talking about using our intelligence and scientific knowledge to satisfy our needs while maintaining the physical environment. The Commonwealth publication 'Sustainable Development and Environmental Issues' explores the need for the world to bring about sustainable development, that is a balance between development and environmental protection, as the 'Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, 1992' states: "In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection should constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be in isolation from it". It also highlights that youth have an important role to play in bringing about environmental protection and sustainable development for ensuring a better future for all.
The module is divided into four units. The first unit aims to enhance our awareness of key concepts related to the natural environment and the major environmental problems facing the world today. Unfortunately, most of our developmental activities have simply exploited the earth's raw materials and released large quantities of waste energy and toxic materials back into the system. We are faced with many threats to our environment: the greenhouse effect, global warming, acid rain, ozone destruction, soil erosion and so on. This unit also aims to provide us with materials that we can use to start an education programme for young people to raise their awareness of the environment. A basic programme in environmental awareness provides a sound foundation for young people to participate in projects that address environmental problems. Finally, the unit looks at the more complex concepts that are important for understanding sustainable development: inter-connectivity, sacredness, and renewable and non-renewable resources.
Unit-2 discusses the social environment and its relationship to the natural or physical environment. It examines different aspects of social environment that can affect the physical environment: value systems, legislation, and global economics. This unit also examines some of the issues that were raised at a world youth environmental meeting, Juventud (Youth)'92, held in San Jose, Costarica.
Young people from all over the world discussed their concerns about the environment and raised the following issues at that meeting: poverty and the environment, external debt, population growth, and natural resource degradation. 'How can young people bring about a change?' - considering this question, this unit explores some of these complex and inter-related issues. The third unit of the module examines the major events that have caused the world to focus the need for environmental protection, in particular the 1992 Earth Summit. The Earth Summit conference, held in Rio de Janeiro, was an important milestone in history. It helped awaken the world to the need for a development process that does not endanger future generations.
 
 

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