Our relations with KSA
One of the priorities in the foreign policy of Bangladesh is to develop and benefit by developing strong bilateral relations with Muslim countries. As a country with more than 90% Muslims, we are supposed to be on firm foundations to invest on the commitment and the pledges of the Ummah to stand by each other and cooperate in development. This was surely the vision of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman that inspired him to take the bold decision to lead the Bangladesh delegation to the Lahore summit of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) at a time when the host country Pakistan and many other Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia did not accord recognition to Bangladesh as an independent and sovereign country.
Today Bangladesh is probably the 3rd largest member country (in terms of population) in the OIC. A million or more of Bangladeshi expatriates (mostly doing menial jobs) are employed in Malaysia and the oil rich gulf countries including Saudi Arabia. This is probably the only high watermark of our diplomatic achievement with the Muslim world which in recent days has come under some threat as well.
Despite the overwhelming Muslim majority and Islamic identity of Bangladesh , as of today, there has been no visit by the king of Saudi Arabia to our country. I am not sure if even the Saudi foreign minister has paid a bilateral visit. The visits of our prime ministers have been entirely for pilgrimage purposes or multilateral meetings and the head of state for attending funerals. Perhaps the only time the Saudis entertained a Bangladeshi head of government with some special warmth was the dictator Ershad, because of the help extended during the first Gulf War.
Ataur Rahman
Tikatuly Road, Dhaka,
ataurrahman100@gmail.com
Saedabad water treatment plant
Dhaka Water Supply & Sewerage Authority (WASA) is the sole source of water in Dhaka metropolitan city. The people have to depend on water of WASA. They drink WASA water, cook with WASA water, take bath in WASA water, do household work with WASA water and perform construction work with WASA water in metropolitan Dhaka. A few rich people can sink deep tube well after obtaining license from WASA but the general public is helpless.
Nowadays people are watching with grave concern that WASA has miserably failed to supply quality water to its consumers. A surface water treatment plant established in Saedabad is now supplying contaminated, defiled and odor full water. The refined water of the treatment plant is supposed to be suitable for human drink. But the water of the plant when preserved in any container, blackish sediment is quickly deposited on the inner surface and at the bottom of the container. Consuming this contaminated water people are being attacked by diseases like typhoid, cholera and dysentery frequently.
In the interest of public health, government should immediately investigate into the cause of contamination of water being supplied from WASA's Saedabad plant and take necessary measures on the basis of the findings. The Bangladesh Standard & Testing Institution (BSTI) should also look into the matter.
Md.Ashraf Hossain
8/A, Ramna, Dhaka-1214
mah120cb@yahoo.com
Winter vegetables...
As I walk along the kitchen market that is adjacent to the area I live in, I see heaps of vegetables -- tomatoes, cauliflowers, cabbages. This pile of greens has been a very common sight throughout during the months of winter, the season of vegetables. Sometimes it so happens that the farmers do not get a fair price as their produce is perishable and they have no option but to sell them at a price lower than their production cost.
Food processing is not a new industry in this country. This industry needs to be modernized and expanded to the reach of rural people. The unemployed youth could be trained in food processing so that they can earn a living. It would not only prevent the wastage of perishable vegetables during the winter but also create employment opportunities for a large section of people.
Zabed Wali
Pahartali, Chittagong
zabedwali@yahoo.com