FARAKKA ISSUE IGNORED Dr Fakhruddin fails to represent Bangladesh at UN session Moinuddin Naser in New York Despite UNISDR's call for global action to prevent flood in view of the recent flood in Bangladesh, India and Nepal in particular and flood problem in general, Dr.Fakhruddin Ahmed, Chief Adviser to the Caretaker Government, failed to mention about Bangladesh's situation in his speech at the General Assembly. He also did not say anything about Bangladesh's drought problem either. But neighbouring Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda urged upon the international community to intervene in this regard and protect the Himalayan glacier in order to mitigate flood problems. The call came from the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), a United Nations agency. On the other hand, Indian Prime Minister Dr Monmohan Singh only spoke about the issue of drought, but did not say a word about regional cooperation. Singh detailed about investment in new technologies and new production regimes for rain-fed and dry land agriculture and explore cost-effective desalination technologies, to use saline water of the sea for agricultural purpose. Coincidently, the statement of the UN agency, and the speeches by the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, Prime Ministers of Nepal and India were delivered on the same day, September 26, 2008. The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) in a statement, issued from Geneva, pointed out that 200 million people worldwide living in coastal flood zones and urged all states to take measures to prevent flooding from turning into a disaster. The ISDR Secretariat in Geneva in its statement said, the devastation caused by floods was evident recently in Bangladesh, Nepal and India, where thousands of villages were submerged as rivers burst their banks. In the statement the ISDR chief Salvano Briceno said, "Flooding is already on the rise due to increasing populations living in flood plains, and climate change will make floods more frequent and severe, with a particular impact on deltas. The recent floods... are glimpses of a future that we need to start adapting to now." The statement also mentioned that successful flood control systems have been implemented across several countries such as Viet Nam, which has used mangrove reforestation to considerably reduce the impact of flooding on coastal populations. Meanwhile, China has spent around $3 billion in flood control efforts between 1960 and 2000, helping to avert an estimated $12 billion in losses. Cost-effective methods to prevent flooding from turning into disaster include risk assessments, evacuation plans, education and not building in flood-prone areas, all of which would require community participation. Total ignorance The UN agency has categorically denounced the building of structure in the flood-prone area. But surprisingly Chief Adviser Fakhruddin seemed totally ignorant about the important issue and did not mention anything about the adverse impact of Farakka Barrage both in drought and flood. Now the question is whether there was no need of regional cooperation to mitigate the effect of flood in the region while Bangladesh as the delta and lowest riparian is the worst affected area. The officials in the United Nations, who are from Bangladesh, often said that the mission and Bangladesh government's officers are engaged in lobbying for job in the United States, rather than serving the interest of the country as the Indians do in the United Nation and has in the process been able to create a very strong lobby for themselves. So the Bangladesh diplomats don't try to make India hostile, and remain silent on issues involving India, which never favoured regional cooperation to mitigate the water-related problems in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. However Nepal's new Prime Minister Puspa Dahal Prachanda when stating about the flood problem in this region stated that for Nepal, the melting of glaciers and shifting weather patterns are threatening the life and ecosystem undermining the sustainability of agriculture and extreme climate-induced disasters such as frequent floods and landslides. He said: "The Himalayan range provides life supporting water downstream for more than a billion people. The Mt Everest is the roof of the world, and the Himalayan range need to be protected and utilised to contribute to the humanity as a whole. So I strongly appeal to the international community to extend all necessary support and cooperation to protect and promote its pristine environment. We need to create a regime of common but differentiated responsibilities, in which the developed countries will lift the burden of adaptation in the vulnerable countries, such as the least developed countries and small islands." Regional cooperation negated About drought Indian Prime Minister Monmohan Singh mentioned in his speech in a different way, which has totally negated the issue of regional cooperation, including the sharing of waters of common basins. He recognised that water might be the cause of many conflicts during the current century but said, "We must reflect how to use this scarce resource efficiently. We need to invest in new technologies and new production regimes for rain-fed and dry-land agriculture and explore cost-effective desalination technologies." But for Bangladesh it is important to realise the due and traditional share of water of common basins for which we need regional and international cooperation. But Dr Fakhruddin has totally omitted that subject. Rather he only referred to the issue of climate change as the means of flooding of Bangladesh. He said, "Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to climate change given that we are a low lying delta in one of the highest rainfall areas of the world. There is growing concern that an irreversible climatic shift will displace tens of millions of our people. By some estimates, a one meter sea-level rise would submerge about one-third of the total area in Bangladesh. Given our population and its vulnerabilities, this would result in the greatest humanitarian crisis in history." Though the issue is controversial and the article which was reported in the daily Independent of London, it was challenged by the source of the article in NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed is still continuing that kind pf propaganda, which is a very palatable issue for the anti-Bangladesh campaign in the international arena. Bangladesh mission's failure Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal in his statement thanked the Secretary General of the United Nations for smooth transfer of UN Regional Centre for Peace Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific from New York to Kathmondhu. The centre was established in 1987 and Nepal's permanent mission to the United Nations signed the agreement and a related Memorandum of Understandings (MOU) on July 21, 2007. Regrettably the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh mission in UN had no initiative to seek the relocation of that important centre to Bangladesh, whereas for many reasons Bangladesh could be the most suitable location for such a centre. Singh ignores Dhaka Last but not least, though the government of Dr Fakhruddin is totally sensitive to say anything about India, Indian Prime Minister Dr. Monmohan Singh in his speech though welcomed return of democracy in Pakistan and expressed commitment to resolve all outstanding issues between the two countries including Jammu and Kashmir through peaceful dialogue, and also welcomed the coming to power of democratically elected governments in Nepal and in Bhutan, he did not mention a single word praising the Bangladesh Government's initiative of ongoing political reforms and arrangement of election, as if India did not quite like the arrangement. অদক্ষতা, অযোগ্যতা আর তাবেদারীর মাধ্যমে দেশের হাজার হাজার কোটি টাকা ক্ষতি করার জন্য ওদের আর হেলপারদের বিরুদ্ধে মামলা ,আর ওরা গ্রেফতার হবে কবে? |
__._,_.___
[* Moderator�s Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.
* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]
Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___
