BBC's month long project Bangladesh Boat Diary ends with this note:While exposing the apparent dangers of climate change, the BBC team were on hand to report the horrors of Cyclone Sidr. Are the two issues connected? Might the ferocity of the storm have been weakened were it not for rising temperatures in the Bay of Bengal? Might such storms become more common in future? The questions are accumulating but we don't seem to find the answe...
November 28, 2007
Today's Links
* Jamaat-i-Islami: A threat to Bangladesh?* Diplomatic missions in Dhaka told not to give visas to Bangladesh war criminals.* Was it a frivolous gift or a lifelong memory? (via Where am I wearing)* Bangladesh joins Trans-Asian Railway network. * The support, suffering and shame of Bangladeshi NG...
Sobbing General
Parvez Musharraf quits as the army chief to become the President of Pakistan. We have watched this scene many time in many places of the wor...
November 27, 2007
Combating the next cyclone
An Ordinary Citizen reassesses Bangladesh's capabilities to combat mega-cyclon...
November 26, 2007
Taslima again
Taslima Nasrin is again in media spotlight because fundamentalists in India are demanding India to expel her. The Bangladeshi writer is in exile since 1994, when fundamentalists issued a fatwa against her for the allegedly blasphemous first novel Lajja. Read some interesting commentaries on the latest controversy:* The sword and the monk’ s cowl* Taslima Nasreen: The Daughter of Eternal Bangladesh on the run in India- But Why?* How Taslima Nasreen knocked Mossamat Akhera Bibi off the headlines?* Taslima Nasrin, the outcast.* Bangladesh writer...
Cyclone Sidr related news
* Concern Worldwide's update on the cyclone Sidr damage, relief and rescue efforts.* The fatal shore: Tahmima Anam writes in the Guardian:A couple of days ago, someone sent a proposal to a mailing list entitled "Sidr cyclone compensation fund". "What do people think of the following idea? Set up a fund, funded totally by expatriates, to pay cash compensation to families of the deceased? If we set a scale - 5,000 taka (£35) for each adult and 2,500...
Using SMS for raising funds
Dina Mehta highlights the efforts in Bangladesh using simple SMS to get people to donate for the victims.Bangla blogging platform Somewherein, in association with Save the Children, has launched an innovative SMS based campaign “Jagoron” (which literally means ‘the awakening’) to enable those living in Bangladesh to do their bit in aid of Sidr victims. The campaign works as follows:A mobile phone user types SAVE and sends SMS to a given number. Each...
For the Sidr Victims in Bangladesh: need of the hour
Prominent writer Anisul Haque wrote this in Prothom Alo questioning some Bangladeshi's attitude of negligence towards the cyclone Sidr victims. The piece is translated by Asif Saleh of Drishtipat.Need of the Hour- Anisul HoqueI feel really mad at myself at times like these. In fact, I feel like spitting on myself. What sort of shenanigan is going on these days? I have just returned from sidr hit Patuakhali and Borguna's worst hit areas. I can already hear people requesting others to ask for help in a low voice. The background score is attempting...
November 24, 2007
Know your enemy
It has been more than one week since cyclone Sidr devastated Bangladesh's Southern coastal region. The official death toll is still at 3199 but the unofficial death toll crossed 6000. Millions of families are displaced and are homeless now. Economists predict US$ 65 billion will be the loss of the nation.The UN said in a report:Cyclone Sidr has affected about 4.7 million people in worst-hit districts and a further 2.6 million people, most of them the "poorest of the poor", are in need of immediate help,. (BDNews24)These people have to be fed up...
November 19, 2007
Traveling
I will be traveling for the rest of the week and will have limited internet connections. So updates on Bangladesh cyclone will be almost non-existent.[BDNEWS24.com] The confirmed death toll from the cyclone reached 3,113 by Monday, while 3,322 are injured and 1,063 missing. Two C-130 aircraft of the U.S. Marine Corp arrived in Dhaka on Sunday night with medical supplies. The King of Saudi Arabia has announced a $100 million grant for the victims. Riyadh would also airlift 300 tonnes of food and relief materials. Check the Daily Star's update on...
November 18, 2007
The forgotten Operation Sea Angel
From Mash's Blog:Let me tell you a story of a disaster that you have probably never heard of and the overwhelming American response that you should know about. In late spring of 1991 a US Navy Amphibious Task Force (ATF) returning from the Persian Gulf war was diverted, on order of President George H.W. Bush, to the Bay of Bengal. A Bangladeshi citizen, rumor has it, on seeing the ATF approach from the sea, called them "Angels from the Sea." Thus began Operation Sea Angel, one of the largest military relief operations ever undertaken. Less than...
Sidr news updates
Shocking news from Bangladesh via BDNEWS24.com:Bangladesh Red Crescent Society Sunday said the death toll from cyclone Sidr may touch 10,000 (official death toll surpassed 2,200 Sunday and a government official declared the disaster "a national calamity").It will take several days to complete the search and know the actual casualty figure and extent of damage to property. Red Crescent officials said some 1,000 fishermen and about 150 boats were still...
November 17, 2007
How can you help Bangladesh cyclone victims?
I have seen the overwhelming concern of the international citizens over the devastations of the Sidr cyclone that battered Bangladesh leading to a death toll of thousands (now more than 3500), 95% loss of crops in the devastated areas, almost a million destroyed houses made more than four millions homeless and many more miseries to follow. The people were only recuperating from the loss from the devastating floods in the northern part of the country a few months ago.The Bangladesh Government is doing their best with its limited resources. Its...
Quote of the day
"When another cyclone hit Bangladesh in 1991 the death toll stood at about 140.000. SIDR is reported to have been at least as fierce as the cyclone in 1991. In the midst of tragedy we therefore also rejoice that Bangladesh this time was much better prepared and able to reduce the impact. Cyclones will pass over Bangladesh in the future again; Bangladesh is strong and prepared. I often get asked this question by visitors ‘Is the development work making any difference in Bangladesh?’ The preparedness for this storm, and the relatively low impact...
November 16, 2007
The demon that was in the cyclone Sidr
Photo: Dhaka in the dark Friday evening (the day after) - courtesy The Daily StarThe descriptions of the destructions that cyclone Sidr brought to Bangladesh are coming to appear. Sidr was one of the 10 fiercest cyclones that had hit the region of Bangladesh in the 131 years between 1876 and 2007.Bangladesh suffered a total disruption of power and can you imagine the national grid broke down because of low usage. Because of disruptions in the cyclone...
The aftermath of Hurricane Sidr: signs of progress?
BDNEWS24.com & BBC are reporting:- At least 250 people killed. Barguna had 77 deaths, Barisal 52, Patuakhali 40, Bagerhat 15, Khulna 11, Gopalganj 10, Bhola 15, Satkhira 13 and Faridpur 10, as storm surges nearly five-feet high slammed into 15 coastal districts. - Hundreds of fishing boats caught in the cyclone failed to return to shore. Red Crescent officials have said at least three villages were flattened by the storm. Search and rescue efforts had been initiated by civilians, army and police, and the casualty figures will rise.- The storm...
November 15, 2007
Cyclone Sidr: Blogger experiences and reactions
The animation of the Sidr cyclone hitting BangladeshToufiq: Chittagong, Bangladesh 01:29 AM Bangladesh Time (+6 GMT) (in Bangla)Electricity just went. Its raining heavily outside. Gusty winds are also present. I am awake for unknown danger. Does anybody know cyclone when the cyclone will be past Chittagong or is it really in Chittagong?Tanvir: 03:00 AM Bangladesh Time (+6 GMT):The Storm is crossing Barishal and still a category 3 hurricane. It will...
Sidr strikes Bangladesh
According to latest reports in BDNEWS24.com Tropical Cyclone Sidr strikes Bangladesh at category 4 hurricane velocity. The latest updates from different news sources so far:- The hurricane SIDR struck Khulna-Barisal coast shortly after 5pm Thursday, setting off driving rains in its path.- The hurricane triggered heavy winds speeding at up to 180 kilometres per hour through Heron Point, Khepupara, Dublarchar and coastal areas adjacent to the Sundarbans.-...
November 13, 2007
Cyclone Sidr heading towards Bangladesh and India
37 years ago the "Bhola Cyclone" hit Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), which was the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded, and one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern times. Death toll estimates range from 300,000 to as high as 500,000 because of a storm surge in the low-lying delta.The storm pundit Chris Mooney writes in the Daily Green:Cyclone Sidr, in the Bay of Bengal, is explosively intensifying. I don't know how strong the storm...
November 12, 2007
Flash mob protesting Pakistan's emergency
Pakistani blogger Dr. Awab Alvi successfully used Flash mob strategy in protesting emergency of Pakistan. Andy Carvin reports:"If you announce a date a day in advance, the army and police show up" and they "beat the hell out of you," according to Dr. Alvi.So he concluded it made more sense to organize very brief protests through telephone calls and other communication channels. At an appointed time, the protesters show up, pull out signs and shout slogans demanding an end to the state of emergency. After 10 minutes, they put away their signs and...
A seminar on Bangladesh genocide in 1971
On December 9, 2007 the Department of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, will be holding a seminar on genocide in Bangladesh titled "Bangladesh 1971: Intolerance, Violence and Genocide". This will be the first international academic conference on the Bangladesh genocide and it will become part of the coursework for a masters degree.More details in Shada Ka...
A killer speaks
Controversies surround a telephone interview with Col. (rtd) Abdur Rashid broadcasted in Channel-I. Col. Rashid is absconding in exile because he has been found guilty of murdering Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the nation. Shada Kalo and An Ordinary citizen have more on th...
Trigger happy border security force of India
While Indian BSF Jawans gift sweets to Pakistani rangers some of their colleagues are shooting down Bangladeshi cattle traders. The Bangladesh media reported quoting BDR (their Bangladesh counterpart) sources that the Indian border guards of Jhaudanga camp opened fire on some cattle traders while they were returning home from India in the morning, killing Saheb Ali on the spot.The Indian media however defended BSF:BSF personnel last night spotted a group of Bangladeshi intruders cutting barbed wire fencing to sneak into the Indian territory. When...
Limitations of the local media in Bangladesh
Via Asif at Dhaka Shohor we know that how local newspapers are facing hindrances in exercising freedom of Speech. An excerpt from the Daily New Age:When New Age was going to press on Wednesday evening, we had in our possession photographs of top-brass BNP leaders, including standing committee member Mahbubur Rahman, being assaulted by activists of their own party. While we at New Age strongly believe that – in the spirit of freedom of the press and our readers’ right to information – we are committed to bring those photographs to our readers, a...
Dhaka Greeneries are shrinking for public
Rumi at In the middle of Nowhere reports:Public park space in Dhaka is almost non existent. Almost hidden within this concrete slum of 12 million people, few spots here and there still gives the Dhakaites much needed greenery and some fresh air to walk in the early morning.While the governments should consider this park space shortage as an issue of priority and do everything possible to make more greenery available to the public, this government has done exactly the opposite.The took away almost half of Ramna Green (25 acre of 62 acres) and silently...
Missing Person
When a VIP/celebrity is blown out of proportion by media and vanishes from media soon after then people start to questi...
Bangladesh has a lot to teach the world
Safia Minney runs the fair trade fashion company called People Tree. She describes about Bangladesh, the land and people she loves: The politics of neighboring countries are intensifying the problems caused by climate change. In times of heavy rainfall or flooding India will use its dams to favour its own people and land redirecting excess water from its great dams into Bangladesh. And in times of drought when water is scarce Bangladesh will receive...
India's new test captain
Congratulations Anil Kumble. But will he be a successful performer in spin department in non-Indian pitch...
November 10, 2007
Bangladeshi Blogosphere remembers Nur Hossain
Today it is Nur Hossain Day.Mash writes in E-Bangladesh:On November 10, 1987 a young Bangladeshi man named Nur Hossain was shot and killed by the forces of Bangladesh’s part-time poet and full time dictator General Hossain Mohammad Ershad. On that day Nur Hossain had joined thousands of other Bangladeshis in protesting the dictator’s rule. The protesters demanded a return to democracy. Nur Hossain stood out amongst the protesters. He had the Bengali...
November 07, 2007
Pakistan cricket team's tour to India 2007/2008
Whenever we think of an India-Pakistan cricket match it promises a great rivalry and excitement to millions of cricket fans in the sub continent. Pakistan cricket team is touring India for a treat of five One Day International cricket matches and two tests (schedule here).Rahul Dravid was dropped from captaincy and his former deputy Virender Sehwag was appointed as the captain of the One-day squad for the first two matches. India won the first match but Pakistan may get back in the series in the 2nd ODI to be played tomorrow as Mohali pitch is...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Swopon 
