Agricultural and Food Production improvement in Bangladesh

Feeding the ever growing population is a big challenge for Bangladesh in the coming decades. The major challenge for the country is to sustain the current level of agricultural production, the task is daunting, especially when the country loses about 80 thousand hectares of cultivable land annually due to excessive pressure on land for human settlement as well as the building of infrastructure such as roads and bridges. Moreover, river erosion and other non-agricultural uses contribute to the diminishing of agricultural land. Although the total number of farm holdings have increased by 22 percent, the cultivated area has declined with average farm size decreasing for 2.26acres in 1983-84 to 1.69 acres in 1996. Given that about 805 of the farms are small and highly fragmented more imaginative and effective organizations of production are needed to sustain community. The newly emerging 'contract farming' taken up by a number of private agri-business firms is one approach for the loss of land is to go for land reclamation in the Bay of Bangla for which of course the country needs massive external assistance. It is essential to improve agricultural production in general and food production in particular. For this, support from the public sector is necessary to generate and promote technologies and hence to strengthen production. Bio-technology research and development of hybrid crops and animal species need to be given which will probably involve partnerships with multinational private sector firms and institutions.

Here are some tips for foreigners about Bangladesh

At the airport :

At the airport, there are taxis, and auto-rickshaws called babitaxis, but you have to bargain for the fare. They demand there/four times more than the usual fare, even more when they see foreigners, especially Europeans. Taxicab services have been introduced but many taxis do not use metres and therefore you may be overcharged.

Driving :

It is difficult to drive in Bangladesh if you have no experience of driving here. Drivers change lanes frequently. As a foreigner you might find lane-changing without signals quite distressing. Many people do not follow traffic signals. Rickshaws and babi-taxis move in and out in a zigzag course and try to push through wherever they find some space. Moreover, pedestrians cross over whenever and wherever they wish. All these make driving in Bangladesh a nightmare experience.

Friendliness :

 Hospitality has long been a part of our culture in Bangladesh. Although many other things are changing now, people are still quite polite and friendly towards foreigners. They like speaking to foreigners even if they have not been introduced. It is quite common for Bangladeshi to ask personal questions about family, jobs and income which visitors from overseas might find awkward. However, it should be understood that no harm is meant by such questions-on the other hand, they express a genuine interest in the foreigner's state of affairs!

Shopping:

There are shops in most, localities of small and big towns which sell both local and imported goods. There are some modern shopping centers with large department stores in the big cities while some air-conditioned, self-service shops have also appeared. In the local markets, traditional haggling is still rampant. However, if you are a foreigner, you do not stand a chance to win.

Bangladesh Banking

An efficient banking system, although important for economic growth, is often unable or unwillingly to lend money to the poorer section of society, hence the need for micro finance institutions. Bangladesh has long history of micro credit finance, with internationally acclaimed organization such as the Grameen Bank providing credit to the poor, particularly rural woman. These institutions, in addition to providing credit, emphasis the need to develop skills and raise consciousness among the rural poor.There are about 800 micro finance institutions in the country with a total membership of about 7 million of which 82 per cent are woman. The cumulative disbursement made by these institutions since their inception is estimated at Tk. 44 billion, with current loans at Tk.9. 6 billion. It is estimated that they have created employment for about 54,000 people.

A recent survey of 1,798 households in Bangladesh indicates that about 45 per cent of eligible households in Bangladesh participate in micro-credit programmes and that about two –thirds of the perticipants are woman. The survey found that micro-credit programmes had a positive effect on socio-economic variables, including children's schooling, children's nutrition and family planning.

Bangladesh Government Employees

In Bangladesh, the retirement age for government employees is 57 years and for university teachers 65 years. In the United Nations the retirement age is 65 years. But this does not mean that after this age people suddenly become useless and unfit to work. These people are an asset to society with knowledge that only experience can bring and need to feel useful and want in society. In the developed countries, social security is provided by the government in the from of post retirement and old age, benefits, so that these people get free medical facilities and can also be economically independent. In Bangladesh, government employees are granted a pension and there are a few facilities at the government hospitals for the old but these are hardly, enough. Besides, the majority of our female population do not belong to the working class. They are housewives and are not eligible for any pension or gratuity. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, about 13.3 million people in 2000.This includes male and female elderly people both from the villages and towns. These people have served their nation and their families through the years. In their old age, it is their right to expect service from us in return. Their physical health has started deteriorating and they need as much care and consideration as possible.

World Poet Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath, the fourteenth child of Debendranath and Sarada Devi Tagore, went to school early and wrote his first verse at the age of eight. At the age of seventeen in 1878 he arrived in London on his way of Brighton, to join his bother's family and attend school there. London made a poor impression on him. He described it as a dismal city, smoky, foggy and wet, with everyone jostling and in a hurry.

Though he was happy in Brighton, a friend of the family persuaded his brother to send him to London in order to benefit from his education in the West. He was put up in a lodging house facing Regent's Park but later moved to the house of a professional coach, a Mr. Scott, as a paying guest.

Young Tagore joined London University, where he attended Henry Morley's lectures in English literature and read Religio Medici and Shakespeare with him. He often visited the Houses of parliament and listened to Gladstone and John Bright's debates in Irish Home Rule.

The arsenic problem of Bangladesh

Thousands of people in Bangladesh are suffering from arsenic poisonings and more are bring affected every day. Arsenicosis is caused by drinking tubewll water containing arsenic. People who drink uncontaminated water do not catch arsnicosis from affected people. The main recommendation for the people who are affected by arsenic is to drink water from a source that contains no arsenic.

 The effects of arsenicosis are less severe among people who eat a healthy, balanced diet, ideally containing fish and vegetables. This is an initial treatment for arsenicosis and may be part of the reason why the number of arsenicosis patients in Bangladesh is still relatively low. It is believed that vitamins A, C and E are effected for treatment of arsenicosis.

Poisoning by arsenic is a slow process: it is due to a gradual build-up of the poison in the human body. Eventually people start to show symptoms and become unwell. Deaths due to long-tern poisoning make it even more important to address the problem as soon as possible. This is in effect a race against time to safe water for everyone. Many people currently drinking arsenic-contaminated groundwater may develop problems soon. They must attempt to find safe source of water.

National Assembly Building of Bangladesh

The Sangsad Bhaban (Parliament House) at Sher-E-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka is a wonder of modern architecture and technology. It is one of the largest and most spectacular Parliament buildings in the world. Originally designed by the famous American architect Louis I. Kahn, this 155 ft high 9-storey building is surrounded by an artificial lake called the Crescent Lake. The main section is hidden behind a strong outer covering with circular and triangular openings. The structure has 1605 doors, 335 windows, 365 ventilators and corridors totaling to a bewildering length of 41.6 kilometers. But for the help of a guide, one could easily get lost in these deceptive corridors. The houses has 354 seats for MPs, 56 for guests, 40 for journalists and 430 for spectators.

The Polythene Bags

On an average 55 lac pieces of polythene bags are being used everyday in Dhaka city alone. Most of this huge quantity of used and then thrown-out polythene bags find their way into the drains. Then the polybags block seweragc pipes and the regular flow of drain water, which result in the complete disruption of the drainage system.

During the rainy season, this kind of blockage by polythene obstructs the rainwater flowing to the drains. Moreover, it is mainly because of the polythene that many low-lying areas of a city go frequently under water. In this regard, we can recall the longest-lasting flood in 1998.Floodwater remained in many parts of Dhaka for over two months. Polythene is also a potential threat to our cultivatable land. It is not capable of being decomposed by natural way.

The Shat Gambuj Masjid

In mid-15^th century, a Muslim colony was founded in the inhospitable mangrove forest of the Sundarbans near the seacoast in Bagerhat district by a saint Ulugh Khan jahan. He was the earliest torch bearer of Islam in the South who laid the nucleus of an affluent city during the reign of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah (1442-59), then known as 'Khalifatabad' (present Bagerhat). Khan jahan adorned his city with numerous mosques, tanks, roads and public buildings. The most spectacular of which is the imposing multidomed mosque in Bangladesh, known as the Shat Gambuj Masjid. The stately fabric of the monument stands on the eastern bank of a vast sweet water tank, clustered around by the heavy foliage of a lowlying countryside characteristic of a seacoast landscape.

Many kinds of houses in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is our homeland.It is not a big country.It is climate is moderate.The natural scenery of Bangladesh is very charming.People of different castes and creeds live here.Most of the people live in villages.But the standard of living of the people is not high.Most of them are poor.They live from hand to mouth.They heave no good houses to live in.There are many kinds of houses in Bangladesh. People of different areas live in different kinds of houses.The houses of the rural areas are quite different from those of the urban areas.        

In the village many people live in bamboo houses.Some of these houses have roofs made of straw and others have tin roofs.In the towns people usally live in houses made of bricks.In Bangladesh cold wind blows in winter from the north and we keep the north side of our house closed.People also grow big tall trees on the north to prevent cold air.

The cyclone in Bangladesh

When a storm revolves violently round a centre, it is termed as cyclone. It moves at a very high speed ranging from forty to one hundred or more kilometers per hour. A cyclone varies in diametere from eighty to one hundred or more kilometers. During the last few years several devastating cyclones swept over Bangladesh and caused immense harm to the people. This extreme weather condition is a curse, especially, to the inhabitants of the coastal regions of Bangladesh.

A cyclone may occur any time and at any place. The violent types of cyclone usually hit the tropics. The cyclone in Bangladesh generally originates from the Bay of Bengal and blows towards the land. It is ofen accompanied by thunders and heavy showers. Before a cyclone commences, unbearable heat is felt for a few days. Then suddenly one day the sky becomes terribly dark with clouds and strong winds begin to blow with flashes of lightning and the rumbling of thunders. Thus a terrible situation is created that lasts for a few hours. It causes a great havoc. A lot of people and other animals die. Dwelling houses are blown away. The tidal bore and the heavy showers wash away the stores of food-stuff and leave the marks of terrible damage. The cyclone is usually followed by scarcity of food and outbreak of various diseases such as cholera, dysentery, diarrhea, fever etc. which spread all over the affected areas.