Bangladeshi government to release three tiger cubs to Sundarban overlooking associated risk factors

The country’s top wildlife conservation official has said a tiger release in to the Sundarbans had been planned despite criticism over such measures and the deaths of two similarly-released tigers in Bangladesh in 2005 and 2006.

The tigress intended for release, Jothi, is a 27 month old big cat weighing in at 75 kilogrammes. She is one of three tiger cubs rescued from smugglers in 2012. All three were reared by wildlife conservators.

“We plan to release the tigress to the Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary, but no time frame for the release has been decided. She will be released for ecological and home-range study purposes and will be fitted with a satellite radio collar,” Forest Department Conservator of Forests (wildlife) Tapan Kumar Dey told the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday.

But Chief Conservator of Forests Yunus Ali, the country’s top forestry department official, denied that the department had any such plans.

Elite force Rapid Action Battalion officials displaying recovered cubs at a press conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh (Source: Internet)

Yet page 40 of the brochure from the Second Global Tiger Stocktaking Conference held in Dhaka between September 14 and 16 this year, signed by both Tapan and Yunus, says: “On experimental basis one tigress (Jothi) will be released in Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary with satellite collar for home range and ecological study. It is a good success story of Bangladesh Forest Department.”

The country’s leading wildlife and tiger experts say releasing the tigress is a bad idea because its chances of survival were very low.

Renowned wildlife expert Ali Reza Khan, a specialist at Dubai Zoo, said, “The experiment would cost the tiger its life.”

“It is an endangered species. The wildlife act does not permit experiments with endangered species,” he said.

“The tigress would not know how to hunt and would be vulnerable to other animals in the wild. If the tigress were released, it would be a serious crime,” said Khan.

He said only tigers and leopards cannot be released suddenly into the wild because they are individualistic animals; all other animals can be released.

Endangered Royal Bengal Tiger cubs in Bangladesh (Source: Internet)

Forest officials say the tigress can kill guinea pigs, goats and boars. But she was not trained to fight other predators, including wild tigers and crocodiles.

Tiger expert Dr Monirul Haque Khan of Jahangirnagar University told the Dhaka Tribune that protocols had to be maintained to enable tigers to be reintroduced into the wild.

“The main challenge for releasing the tigress is cultivating her independence and self-reliance. Since she was raised by humans, Jothi remains unprepared for life in the wild,” he said.

“The protocols for re-introduction are a must. The tigress first needs to be acclimatised to the Sundarbans. She needs to develop hunting skills, otherwise she may not survive,” said Monirul.

The tigress would be fitted with a satellite collar to study her movements, behaviour and home range, Tapan told the Dhaka Tribune.

When the correspondent reminded Tapan about previous failures with such releases and problems with collaring technology, he admitted that there had been some bad episodes earlier.

Researchers in 2005 and 2006 applied radio collars to two tigers after tranquillising them. The first tiger died within six months of radio-collaring and the second one died soon after it was tranquillised to remove the collar.

Tapan claimed the tigers died due to old-age complications but admitted that there were risks associated with collaring and there were problems with tranquillising tigers.

Conservationists oppose the use of satellite radio collar technology because such devices reportedly irritate the tigers and can lead to hormonal changes in them.

Tiger expert Ali Reza Khan said collaring should not be applied. Instead, the department should import tracking devices or micro-chip devices if officials insist on the release. If they do not use the new technology, they should abandon the release plan, he said.

He said if forest department officials press forward with a release, they should go for a soft release to enable Jothi to learn about her new habitat before fully releasing her into the wild.

But Khan said he would prefer it if the forest department raises the three tigers and uses them for breeding.

“Since there are both male and female tigers, the department should increase the number of this rare species through breeding programmes,” he said.

Three tiger cubs, recovered from smugglers kept at a fence in Dhaka (Source: Internet)

Rapid Action Battalion, on June 11, 2012 recovered three Royal Bengal Tiger cubs, including one male and two females, from a smuggler in the Shyamoli area of the capital.

The cubs were poached from the Kakra Khali area of Koikhali Check Station under Sathkhira Range of Sundarbans West Forest Division, forest officials said.

The three month old cubs –  Joy, Jothi and Jui – were sent to a mini rescue centre at the Botanical Gardens. When the tigers grew to a weight of 20 kilogrammes, the forest department transferred them to BSM Safari Park in Cox’s Bazar on October 13, 2012.

All three of them are now 2 years and three months old. Joy, the male, weighs 120 kilogrammes, while Jothi and Jui are now up to 75 kilogrammes each, according to forest officials.

Published at www.dhakatribune.com

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Homegrown eco-technology system could clean up polluted water bodies

A Bangladeshi university teacher and two of his students have developed a bioremediation technique deployed using an artificial floating wetland that has shown dramatic success in reducing the E-coli, organic waste and turbidity levels of polluted water.

Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology (AUST) assistant professor Dr Tanveer Ferdous Saeed along with students, Mashrekur Rahman and Hamim Ahmed, have introduced a system that can convert industrial waste water into purified water using a floating wetland consisting of plants and bacteria.

The success rate in removing E-Coli, organic waste and water turbidity in pilot projects run during the last three years has been between 80 and 99 percent. Saeed said these systems would cost a maximum of Tk2500 each. Once introduced, there is no maintenance cost, he added.

Water purification through floating wetland system (Source: Internet)

The innovative technology consists of a floating, porous buoyant platform on which plants are established, allowing the roots of the plants to hang below the platform and inside the water column. These hanging roots encourage extensive growth of bacteria on root surfaces,  establishing a combined network of roots and bacteria that can remove contaminants from the water column.

“Though water purification using floating wetlands is quite common in many countries, it is yet to be introduced in Bangladesh. This natural technology can remove harmful waste and pollutants, hazardous for health and the environment, from lakes and water bodies,” Dr Saeed told the Dhaka Tribune on Thursday.

Under the system, a mat made using PVC pipes, will form the base of a mini-ecological system involving soil, water, different plants, and ultimately, bacteria.

According to the Department of Environment (DoE), 20,000 tonnes of tannery waste, including some highly toxic materials, are released into Bangladeshi rivers every day. Everyday in the capital, 9000 tonnes of waste is produced; 49% of it is household waste and the rest is commercial, industrial and medical waste.

The capital has been subjected to high levels of pollution for years. Rivers and lake waters pose a high disease risk due to synthetic pollution and biological waste in the form of human sewage, animal excrement, rainwater run-off and city waste.

“We are using these materials because they are widely available everywhere in the country, and they are cheap. The plants used for water purification can be found in local water bodies. As soon as the plants grow to maturity, they have large roots that touch the water beneath the artificial wetland,” he said.

“Bacteria grow in the plant roots. When water flows inside the roots, these bacteria will clean the waste and the water that passes through the system,” the scientist said.

The beginning

Dr Saeed returned to Bangladesh in 2011 after completing his PhD (Environment) at Monash University, Australia.

“With what I learned there, I thought I could introduce a floating wetland water purification system in the country because no one had introduced it yet. First, I began pilot projects on the roof of the university building. The first one was a tannery waste purifying project, then a textile waste purifying project, and then a municipal waste purification project,” he said, adding that it took three years to run the pilot projects.

“When the lab tests showed that the projects were working properly, we went for a full-fledged project,” he said.

For the rooftop projects, lab tests showed that the E-Coli pathogen was removed by 89%, while 89% of BOD (organic waste elements) and 99% of turbidity was removed.

As the project continued, results showed 95.69% E-Coli removal, 79.64% BOD removal and 100% turbidity removal.

“It was the winter season and some of our plants died leading to a decrease in BOD removal,” he said explaining why the BOD removal rate decreased.

The full-fledged project at Lalmonirhat

Encouraged by the success of the pilot projects, Dr Saeed and his colleagues made plans to introduce the system to a big water body.

“We introduced the system to Sukan Dighi which is in Guriadha village in Lalmonirhat. We established 10 systems there, 180 feet in total, to cover 37 acres of the dighi. The plants in the system will grow by 3-4 feet within the next one and a half months. It will be fully functional from next February,” he said.

The system was introduced on October 12.

Government support stressed

Saeed believes his eco-technological intervention can purify the water in all of the lakes in the capital.

“Gulshan lake is now hugely polluted. If we can introduce 30 systems there, it will purify the water and will increase its beauty. It will only cost Tk60,000 to introduce the system,” he said.

He said if Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) helps them, they could introduce the systems on a large scale.

Dr Saeed’s team has sought support from the government to implement and spread the technology across the country.

“We believe that these systems can purify water from the most polluted lakes and water bodies if introduced. But we alone cannot do it. The government, the DoE and RAJUK have to come forward to help spread the system so that people get purified water at the cheapest possible price,” he said.

Published at: www.dhakatribune.com

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Probe bodies merely ‘formality’ in reality

 

A family member of Pinak-6 launch capsize waiting for his relatives dead body. Courtesy: Dhaka Tribune

Though causalities in ferry capsizes have topped around 4,500 while many remain missing in the last 38 years, the government is yet to take punitive action against those responsible because of a vicious cycle of corrupt officials.

Probe committees are formed after every incident and they make recommendations to the Shipping Ministry. Of around 500 such committee reports, only four have so far been published and punitive action was taken against the vessel owners.

In the other incidents, no probe report was made public in line with the related law and no one except for the ministry officials are aware of the facts and names of persons responsible. Even it is alleged that the ministry does not pay heed to the preventive measures suggested by the probe bodies.

A senior leader of the launch owners said in most cases, the responsible launch owners and staff too were not told about what to do to prevent recurrence of accidents. Most of the owners repair or improve service by themselves.

Water transportation experts told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday said concealing the probe reports actually helped the launch owners escape punishment. They said the recommendations needed to be followed to prevent such causalities.

At least 4,420 people died while 520 others injured and 400 remain missing in over 550 launch accidents in the last 38 years, according to the official statement of the Department of Shipping and the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA). Of those, around 1,960 persons were killed and 176 persons went missing in the last decade.

However, the actual number of accidents and causalities is much higher than the government estimates.

The probe bodies found that most incidents had taken place because of faulty design and structure, inefficient drivers, overloading passengers, ignoring weather forecasts, and lack of life-safety equipment on the vessels.

“The recommendations made by the probe committees in most cases hold the masters [drivers] responsible for the incidents, but they are rarely punished. The relevant law has a provision to fine a maximum of Tk1 lakh. But no one has ever been fined that amount until date,” said Aminur Rasul Babul, general secretary of Nirapod Noupath Bastabayon Andolon, a platform working to ensure safe waterway.

According to the law, the probe reports are supposed to be made public in 10 days after submission. Many of the committees did not event file reports within the stipulated time frame, he said.

In most cases, the recommendations were never implemented, Babul added.

According to the organisation, the reports of 863 investigation committees, formed to investigate 535 incidents, were not made public.

Buet’s Prof Khabirul Haque Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune that all these probe committees formed in the name of taking preventive measures were eyewash.

“All these incidents are killings and cannot be stopped only through formation of probe committees. There are not enough people to monitor the operation of the vessels; even the magistrates do not have any authority to prevent such incidents,” he said expressing frustration over the rising number of accidents.

“People responsible for the incidents are approving the designs and none of them even care about the recommendations,” said Khabirul, who has been working on the sector since 1986.

Regarding punitive measures mentioned in the probe reports, he said: “The reports are prepared in a way so that the guilty people can escape punishment.”

Blaming mismanagement as the core reason behind such incidents, former BIWTA secretary Syed Monowar Hussain said the recommendations of the probe reports were not implemented since those reports had been prepared by surveyor and inspectors under the shipping department. “These officials usually approves operation of water vessels with faulty designs. This is why the findings should be questioned.”

He also said the recommendations always remain the same in the reports when only the names of vessels and owners, location and number of passengers are changed.

Regarding the recent Pinak 6 capsize, Monowar said the launch was carrying over 300 people while the capacity was only 85. “The launch was already vulnerable and bad weather just made the accident evident.”

Since inclement weather has always been a common phenomenon, so the main reasons behind the tragic incident were “overloading passengers and lack of monitoring.”

“Neither the BIWTA nor the shipping department has any monitoring and control in Kawrakandi jetty to ensure that the launch did not operate with passengers beyond its capacity,” he said.

Monowar said the shipping department had only six surveyor-cum-inspectors to monitor over 10,000 vessels, registered by the government, for the whole country. “None of them were prosecuted for approving the faulty designs.”

While contacted, Bangladesh Inland Waterways (passenger carrier’s) Association Adviser Badiuzzaman Badal, however, blamed the government for not cooperating with them in taking adequate preventive measures.

“Many of the probe committees were formed until date, but the government never contacted us. None of our representatives were included in the committees to help them taking effective preventive measures,” he said.

“We do not know how the accidents happened as the recommendations were never disclosed to us. So how can those be implemented?”

Badal said they were always unaware of the recommendations. So they address the visible problems with their own knowledge, not based on the recommendations.

“If we are included in the committees, it will create obstacles for the bureaucrats to make money through corruption,” he claimed.

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Relatives left mourning on the last night in Savar

A relative of a missing RMG worker is standing in front of the photo of his dear one. Photo: Nashirul Islam/Dhaka Tribune

Several hundred relatives of Rana Plaza’s victims were seen waiting at the Adhar Chandra School premises for news of their dear one’s body on Monday night, the day the rescue operation was finally called off.

On the 20th day since rescue operations began, Major General Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardy, commanding officer of the ninth infantry division of Bangladesh Army, declared the end of operation at a press briefing.

Around 200 relatives were seen at the Adhar Chandra school grounds holding photos of their missing relatives. The discovery of Reshma on the 17th day after the building collapse, raised hopes more may be found alive, or find their remains.

The lights at the school were being switched off, and around 50 empty coffins were lying scattered in the field, a scene that could describe the emotional state of those still waiting and hoping for news.

Most people, who were there last night, had lost more than one relative in the incident on April 24. Everyone present took part in prayers held for missing victims yesterday. With the closure of operations and no more bodies recovered on the last day, the only mean for those waiting is by DNA tests.

Many relatives gave blood samples for DNA matching in the hope of finding the bodies of their near ones from the bodies still unidentified, which were buried in the capital’s Jurain graveyard with the help of the charity organisation Anjuman Mofidul Islam.

Fazlur Rahman Mridha from Noagaon lost both his wife and daughter. He was handed his daughter Khadiza’s body on April 24, but has not been able to trace his wife Asma Begum yet. Khadiza used to work in the 5th floor and Asma on the 3rd floor of Rana Plaza.

Abdul Mannan, a brother who lost two younger sisters Bonna Akhter and Tanjina Akhter, was also waiting at the school. He received Tanjina’s body on the 9th day of rescue operation, but was yet to receive Bonna’s body. Bonna used to work on the 3rd floor as a sewing operator, and Tanjina worked on the 6th floor.

Around 60 policemen were patrolling the school; along with volunteers and other officials from the Dhaka Deputy Commissioner’s office also present there on Monday night.

Meanwhile, the High Court on Monday asked the government to submit a list of missing victims from the Savar tragedy. The government will have to prepare the list on the basis of documents including photos, appointment letters, identity cards collected from relatives.

Photo: Nashirul Islam/Dhaka Tribune

The other Reshma and ‘unlucky’ Habib

Rescue workers dragging out Reshma from the Rana Plaza debris

 

A family was reduced to tears on Friday as they realised that the rescued Reshma is not “their Reshma.” People from different corners of Bangladesh and elsewhere were celebrating the rescue of Reshma, on the 17th day following the Rana Plaza collapse.

As soon as it was announcement a garment worker named Reshma was alive in the basement of the building, Abdul Habib Sheikh rushed to the area assuming that it was his wife who is still missing.

Habib said his wife Reshma was a swing operator at Phantom Garments. She hails from Rajbari and has a six-year-old son named Azizul Hakim.

Before identifying the survivor, Habib told the Dhaka Tribune: “I have been trying to find her since the day the building collapsed. I went to Adhar Chandra Field, Rana Plaza point and multiple morgues to find my beloved wife. It seems God has blessed me now. “Please take me to her. I want to talk to Reshma,” he was seen shouting while standing opposite the collapsed building.

Meanwhile, the Dhaka Tribune reporters went to G/17 of Bank Colony area after Habib gave them his address.

Habib’s relatives were seen celebrating the rescue. They told the Dhaka Tribune they saw, on television, a girl named Reshma was rescued alive. “Reshma’s husband Habib already rushed to the spot. I will be going there soon to see our daughter-in-law,” Habib’s father Abdul Khaleque said.

“This is our Reshma. On April 24, she was wearing a blue dress and I saw on TV, the rescued girl was wearing the same coloured dress.”

Habib’s mother said: “We searched for her everywhere. Look at her son: for these past 17 days, he has repeatedly been telling us to bring back his mother.”

However, at 6:30pm, when the Dhaka Tribune team met Habib, he said: “Brother, this was not my Reshma. This Reshma’s husband’s name is Razzaque.”

Can she ever walk again?

Rescue operation going on at Rana Plaza at Savar.

 

Can she ever walk again? For 25-year-old Saima, this is the single most important question in her life, or what remains of it, after the walls of Rana Plaza came tumbling down on that fateful April 24 and destroyed everything she knew.

Doctors say there is little chance of her getting cured permanently. But like a seaman who was cast adrift in the middle of a vast sea and yet hopes to survive, she dreams of being on her feet again and walk.

“I want to walk again. I want to lead a normal life like other people of my age”, said Saima, lying on a hospital bed at the Rana Plaza Tragedy Ward at Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), Savar.

The mother-of-two became fully paralysed after four vertebras down the centre of her back was fractured beyond healing. She condition is the “most critical” among the 38 victims currently admitted to CRP. The facility has two wards and one cabin especially arranged for the treatment of the Savar tragedy victims.

The man in charge of the 19-bed ward where Saima is staying, said she had “less than 1 percent” chance of becoming normal again. “Despite that, she will be operated on soon enough,” he said. Saima was working on the seventh floor of Rana Plaza when the building started caving in.

She said, “When they switched on the generator, I heard a loud noise and the floor down my feet shook heavily.” “People became frightened and started running for the staircases. I too ran myself and when I reached the sixth floor, the building started collapsing. I got hit by a pillar and lost senses.”

“When I gained consciousness, I realised some people were trying to pull me up. There was serious pain in my back, which, I noticed, was trapped under a heavy pillar. I lost my senses again.”

She regained her senses in the Enam Medical Hospital. Her mother, Rahela, was there with her. On April 26, doctors from CRP visited her at the Enam Hospital and suggested that she be shifted to their facility.

Rahela said, “Doctors examined her condition and told us that Saima would not be able to walk anymore since her spine has been totally broken. They, however, assured us that they would do an operation nonetheless, however slim chances maybe.”

Saima hailed from Naogaon to live with her toy-seller husband in Majidpur, Savar. But she doesn’t want to live in this city anymore. “I don’t know if I will ever be normal again. But chances are very thin that I will. If I cannot work, I don’t want to stay in this city either. But where shall I go, and to whom, if I have to leave here?”

As she said that, her eyes were filled with tears.

A dream that withstood disaster

People gathering around Rana Plaza at Savar, Dhaka that collapsed on April 24, 2013.

The story of Rabeya is not unlike the stories of the hundreds of people who lost their lives or limbs in the Savar tragedy, but she inspires her fellow victims with a steadfast commitment to the single dream in her life: to study.

All Rabeya, whose spine was badly damaged in the building collapse, wants now is a chance to live her dream.

“I just want one more chance; I want to study. I could not continue my studies before and now I have become handicapped. I am not fit to work anymore,” the 16-year-old said.

Rabeya’s injuries have rendered her permanently disabled. Before she became a garments worker, she was a student and cherished the dream of becoming an educated and enlightened person.

Lying on her hospital bed at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), Savar, she narrates the story of her life our correspondent. “Two years ago, my sister Hamida and I were eighth grade students in Imandipur Unique School. We were performed well and always achieved top positions in class,” she recalled.

“But unfortunately, in 2011, my father Mohammad Saleh Liton met with a road accident that rendered him permanently unable to move one of his hands and legs. My father was a truck conductor and the sole wage-earner in our six-member family.” “I am the eldest of our siblings and all of us are girls. I decided to step into my father’s shoes and take care of my family. So together with Hamida, who is just a year younger than me, I quit school and joined a garments factory at Rana Plaza,” Rabeya said.

She was a swing operator of New Wave Style Limited, which was on the 7th floor of the building when the building started caving in. “On April 24, the day Rana Plaza collapsed, we were both at work. I remember people running around, trying to get to the stairs and out of the building. I remember heading for the stairs myself. Something happened then and I cannot recall anything else after that,” she said.

When she regained her senses one day later, she found herself lying on a hospital bed watched over by her father. He informed her that she was in Dip Clinic in Savar and her sister, Hamida, was admitted there as well. Hamida’s injury was not as severe as Rabeya’s.

“On April 26, doctors from CRP visited Dip Clinic and asked us to shift Rabeya to their facility.” Rabeya’s father Liton told the Dhaka Tribune. He further said, “They told us that Rabeya would not be able to walk anymore due to the fracture in her spine and advised that she stay here for at least six months.”

“Without having my daughter around to take my family’s financial responsibility, I do not know how we will survive. But I want her to get proper treatment and be able to do whatever she wants to do,” he added, holding back tears.

Savar, a town covered with ‘missing’ leaflets

Relatives of missing RMG workers paste leaflets in walls in search of their dear ones.

As hundreds of victims of the Rana Plaza collapse still remain untraceable by families and rescuers alike, Savar became a town covered by “missing” leaflets.

However, the actual number of people who went missing in the accident still remains unknown as the stats varied from organisation to organisation who listed names of missing people either voluntarily or professionally.

On the seventh day of the disaster, walls, road side tea- stall, gates of Adar Chandra High schools, Savar Cantonment, Gana Sasthya Medical College and Hospital were literally pasted with hundreds of leaflets, carrying the same urge “help us in finding this person– dead or alive”.

The leaflets also contained contacts of the relatives. General Officer Commanding of Bangladesh Army’s 9th Infantry Division, Major General Chowdhury Hasan Suhrawardi at a press briefing on Wednesday claimed: “Only 149 people are still missing in the country’s worst ever industrial disaster.”

Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation President Rafiqul Islam Sujan told the Dhaka Tribune that, according to their list 802 workers are still missing. Meanwhile, Local Government Deputy Director AKM Aminur Rahman said: “According to Dhaka district commissioner’s office only 185 peoples are missing.

However, Monowara Sarker, director of tracing department of Bangladesh Red Crescent Society said: “Till Wednesday evening, we listed 400 names as missing.”

An official of the Red Crescent Society informed the Dhaka Tribune that, according to their gathered information, “the number of casualties are much higher than the number published.”

On the other hand, Ataur Rahman, a student of Savar College and University, who voluntarily made a count of the missing people claimed to have listed 1200 names as missing in the last seven days.

Savar upazila branch of Manabadhikar Unnayan Sangstha general secretary M Bashiur Rahman said 600 people are listed as missing in their database.

Panna, wife of garment worker Rafiq, who used to work at the fourth floor of Rana Plaza said, “I will not ask any compensation, I promise. Please hand me my husband’s body. Let me bury him according to the rituals.”

She was talking to the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday.

Handing over a leaflet containing his sister’s photo, Ishaq Faqir, brother of garment workers Taslima, told the Dhaka Tribune, “Please take this and call me if you succeeded in tracing her,” and then went on pasting leaflets on road-side walls.

Rustom from Thakurgaon, who could not yet know the fate of his sister Mina said, “It has been a week I am here (at the school ground) without any rest or sleep. I tried to console my mother over phone saying, ‘just like us, lots of other people could not find their relatives’ body.’ But he was urged not to return home without his sister.

“I am still waiting for my sister.” Gana Sasthya Hospital in charge Asma said, “Everyday, since the disaster, people are giving us their contacts and photos of the victims hoping their relative would be brought to this hospital and we might call them. I feel helpless whenever they hand me over these.”

Pointing out that the five garment factories housed at the Rana Plaza are not preparing any list of victims, anthropologist Rahnuma Ahmed said, “The compensation will not reach the victims or their families, particularly to those of missing, unless a list is prepared by the owners. They need to publish the list of the workers. Otherwise, only some of those among who were found would receive compensation leaving the missing people and their family in sufferings.”

If Work Is Your Right, Why Not Part Time?

Badrul Alam Shawon belongs to a middle-class family and studies at a private university. After returning home from classes each evening, he works in one of the Aarong outlets in the capital. ‘As I do not have classes in the evening, I utilise my spare time by working in the fashion house. This way, I can contribute to my family and gather some working experience as well,’ reflected Alam.

This young man represents the thousands of youth who work in different outlets, run by private companies, to manage their expenses, ergo indirectly affecting the state of unemployment in Bangladesh. A few years back, private tutoring was considered the sole option for part-time job seekers, whereas working in food chains, shopping malls or fashion houses were subject to great social taboo. Today, the mindset of the students has changed drastically. Many students today work in different professions and, with the emergence of newer career fields, many doors have opened to youth seeking part-time work. Given that students have the option to avail work from different organisations, The Joven visited different areas of the capital in hopes of finding their sentiments about part-time jobs. The students stated that these jobs are very attractive as they provide them with an opportunity to both study and work.  

Farzana Binte Amin, a Fashion Design student, works for an event management company. She mostly works in the evenings, where she manages, does set designs, plans the activities and, in turn, earns a respectable income. She says, ‘The situation has changed quite a bit in comparison to the past few years. Students have taken on part-time work and are paid on an hourly basis, though the payments are still low. This, in turn, discourages students from pursuing such opportunities.’

The food chains are keen to employ the youth as part-time workers. Chains such as KFC, BFC, FFC, Nando’s, etc. offer employment opportunities to students. Tamanna Khan, the Shift Manager at the Gulshan outlet of KFC, said, ‘Most of the employees in the KFC outlets are students. We recruit them on both a part-time and full-time basis. If one has to attend classes, he or she is given the option for choosing the preferred shift.’ When asked about the recruitment process, Khan replied, ‘Anyone who has passed HSC can drop off his or her CV in the outlets and, if we are content with that recruit, we call in the person for an interview.’ The only issue, as previously mentioned, is the low compensation. Full-time staff members receive a fixed amount while part-timers, who generally work four to five hours, are paid on an hourly basis.

In the past, parents would discourage their children from pursuing part-time work due to the social stigma attached to it, although today it’s a completely different scenario and increasingly parents support their children with such pursuits. Ashaque is one such working individual, who is currently working as a sales executive at Swapna Shopping Mall. He says, ‘My parents respect my profession and encourage me to carry on with my work during my free time’.

Furthermore, The Joven also spoke to Md. Shohagh, the Sales Executive from the Elephant Road branch of Menz Club, and when asked to elaborate the recruitment process, he stated, ‘Students can apply for part-time work here. We do have those options, although only full-time people benefit largely from packaged monthly salaries.’

 

It’s no surprise that the part-time job market has more vacancies during seasonal holidays, semester breaks and, currently, the month of Ramadan and the Eid holidays to come. Not to mention, restaurant owners are always interested in recruiting energetic and enthusiastic undergraduate students. A quick tip for our readers, many establishments in most cases ask for proficiency in English for those students looking for productive ways to make use of their free time. As an official from Nando’s Gulshan Branch puts it, ‘We recruit students on the condition that they have to be well-spoken in English. If anyone fulfils that qualification, they can apply for work here.’

The scenario, as it now stands, is promising and, while in the past such a sight was virtually invisible, today we Bangladeshis can hope to see a better tomorrow. Simply put, part-time employment has become more than just a socially acceptable practice. Not only are the young students juggling work and classes, thereby managing their own expenses, continuing their education and learning to be responsible in the process, but also, inadvertently, they are contributing to the state of the economy.

With increased job satisfaction from the youth, more options are becoming available. Although there still remain young individuals, such as Nayeema Siddique, who feel that working part-time is an enjoyable experience for the youth, the job market is yet to provide them with sufficient opportunities. And those, the likes of Siddique, who suggests that if more companies came forward and provided more part-time work opportunities, it would give hope and help make Bangladesh a brighter and better place to be in.

Conquering Everest

I went there as a team member and upon completing the trip successfully; I thought to myself, ‘I managed to climb to the base camp once, so why not climb Mount Everest even if it was just once?’ says Nishat Mazumder in a conversation with Syed Anik.

 

The beauty of the mountains attracted me long before I became a mountaineer. Enam Al Haque, the founder and chairman of Bangla Mountaineering and Trekking Club (BMTC) was the person who inspired me to pursue mountaineering. Moreover, the hundreds of adventure stories that I read as a child, helped me muster the will to participate in this challenging experience.

Back in 2003, Keokradong was known as the highest peak one could reach in Bangladesh, which always attracted many Bangladeshi mountaineers. My journey began the same year, when I went to Bandarban to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of when man conquered the Everest (Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary). While I was at the peak, I found the opportunity to see many mountains closely and it was love at first sight. After I came back from that trip I decided to take up climbing and trekking more regularly.

The following year, I was really excited to see a circular in the newspaper, that stated BMTC is organising a tour and requesting for a team to be named ‘Everest Team 1’ and I thought this was a perfect time to become a member of this team. Furthermore, in 2006, I met Enam Al Haque for the first time and he was thinking of sending a team of women to the Himalayas. He put together a team consisting of 5 women who will have to visit the base camp in the Himalayas. I went there as a team member and upon completing the trip successfully; I thought to myself, ‘I managed to climb to the base camp once, so why not climb Mount Everest even if it was just once?’

A Victory

There are many mountains within the Himalayas and each has a specific name. Enam Al Haque felt that a mountain should be named after Bangladesh and contacted the Nepalese government, whereupon they accepted his proposal on the condition that if a Bangladeshi national could successfully conquer a mountain that hasn’t been conquered yet, they would allocate and name it accordingly.

We asked for a suggestion from our Sherpa in Nepal, and formed the Bangladesh-Nepal team. Our team comprised of 7 mountaineers from Nepal and 6 from Bangladesh, including myself, and we started climbing Checigo Mountain together in a joint venture project. It should be noted that this accomplishment led to the Nepalese government to change the name from Checigo Mountain to Nepal-Bangladesh Friendship Peak.

To the Everest and Back

Returning from that tour, I thought to myself if I could conquer a rough mountain than why not Everest? In 2011, I managed to attend a pre-Everest tour to Manaslu, known to be the eighth highest and fourth most risky mountain in the world. However, once I had climbed up to 7200 meters, my Sherpa suggested not to climb further, as there would be a lack of oxygen beyond that altitude. Despite my mental readiness, I was forced to climb down. Now that I think about it, that incident strengthened my resolve to climb Everest.

As soon as I returned from the tour, I started collecting money for my trip to the Everest. On April 6 this year, I and MA Muhit, on behalf of BMTC, started our trek. We arrived in Kathmandu, finished the preliminary formalities within two days and took a plane to the town of Lukla, which is 8500 feet high. From Lukla, we walked to the base camp, a trek of 75 kilometres, and by April 15, we finally arrived at the base camp. At this point we were at a striking 17500 feet above sea level. Following the base camp, we again started the trip and reached camp 1, at 21,000 feet, on April 26. Consequently we began our journey to camp 2 and on my way there, I thought I was going to lose my life. We were caught in a very strong storm that led to an avalanche and, all the while, I was going mad, fearing for my life. Thankfully, my Sherpa came to my rescue and we finally arrived at camp 2 at 10 am on April 27.

Soon after, I fell ill and my Sherpa suggested that I consult a doctor. I grew fearful that the doctor would ask me to return home. Thankfully, once I met him, I was relieved to hear that I would be fine. We made for camp 2 and reached there on May 9th. The bad weather conditions there gave us little choice but to wait for a few days, but on May 16 when the weather improved, it gave us the window to hurry to camp 3. Within two days, we reached camps 3 and 4 and awaited the final course.

On May 18, we finally started for Mt. Everest and the following day, at 11.30 am, we successfully conquered the Everest summit. The excitement I felt in that specific moment is indescribable. When I looked around all sides of the summit, all I could see was clouds. When standing there I could even see the summits of Lhotse (4^th), Makalu (5^th) and Cho You (6^th), the highest mountains of the world.

What’s Next?

When I came back from the Everest, the feelings I had were nothing short of ecstatic. The support I received from my parents, colleagues, friends and well-wishers and how they received my accomplishment is something I can never forgot. As I’ve already mentioned, the beauty of the mountains have always and will continue to attract me. Adventure is my passion. This is not the end! Rather it’s the beginning! I wish to continue and indulge in not only mountaineering but also various other types of adventures in the coming future.