Naznin Tithi

“Bangladesh needs to put forward the ‘transit in exchange for rivers’ formula as the framework for Indo-Bangladesh negotiations”

I have been writing about water development issues since the 1988 flood and, over time, developed a conceptual framework for discussing these issues.

Why did electricity price go up without a public hearing?

Professor M Shamsul Alam talks to Naznin Tithi of The Daily Star about the reasons behind the recent electricity price hike and how the energy sector can be made more efficient.

There is no rationale for bulk power price hike

We have observed a serious lack of accountability in the entire process of electricity price fixing.

Our embankments are contributing to floods, not stopping them

Dr S Nazrul Islam, founder of Bangladesh Environment Network (BEN) and Vice President of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA), speaks with Naznin Tithi of The Daily Star about the causes behind the devastating floods in Sylhet and Sunamganj, and what the government must do to avoid such disasters in the future.

When urbanisation and waterlogging go hand-in-hand

The rainy season has just set in, and we have already started to experience waterlogging in many parts of Dhaka.

‘To properly utilise health budget, we need a system overhaul’

Dr Syed Abdul Hamid, professor at the Institute of Health Economics in Dhaka University, talks the allocation for the health sector in the proposed national budget.

Everything that’s wrong with Bangladesh Railway

When was the last time we heard of any positive news about Bangladesh Railway (BR)? I don’t remember coming across any in recent years.

We need a robust national emergency service

At a time when everyone is talking about making the national emergency helpline service more efficient—so that more people can get

Will Dhaka Wasa and its MD ever be held to account?

In 2019, Taqsem A Khan, managing director of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa), faced huge public outrage for saying that the water supplied by Wasa was 100 percent drinkable.

‘Social engineering is vital to solve waterlogging in Bhabadaha’

Dr Ainun Nishat, professor emeritus of BRAC University and a water resource and climate change specialist, talks to Naznin Tithi of The Daily Star about the reasons behind the persistent waterlogging problem in the Bhabadaha area and the measures that should be taken to solve it.

When will our health system put patients before profits?

The recently reported cruel act of a hospital—that removed oxygen tubes from six-month-old twins because their mother couldn’t pay the hospital bills—speaks volumes about the state of our healthcare sector.

The crime of negligence

In the early hours of December 24, the deadliest launch fire in Bangladesh’s history wreaked havoc on the launch MV Abhijan 10, burning so many people alive; as of December 28 afternoon, the death toll from the tragedy stood at 42, with more than 50 people still missing.

We need stronger commitment to stop using single-use plastic

We are not really aware of how much we use plastic materials in our day-to-day lives.

Returnee female migrants need help to bounce back in life

There is hardly any positive news about our female migrant workers employed in the Middle East or those who have returned home from there.

The deadly urban heat that can cripple our city

In yet another sign of rapid deterioration in the quality of life in Dhaka, a recent study, published by the US-based scientific journal PNAS, has found the city to be the worst-affected around the world due to extreme urban heat.

Buriganga remains a sad tale. Can we turn it around?

The other day, I was listening to this popular song by Kafil Ahmed, one of the few gono sangeet artists of our time.

‘Continuous assessment without remedial assistance will be futile’

Prof Siddiqur Rahman, former director of the Institute of Education and Research (IER) at Dhaka University and member of the National Education Policy 2010 formulation committee, talks to The Daily Star’s Naznin Tithi about the challenges we may face in implementing the new school curriculum, the outline of which was recently approved by the prime minister, and how we can solve them

‘Blended learning is what we will need in the coming days’

Professor Dr Kazi Shahidullah, chairman, University Grants Commission (UGC), former chairman, department of history, Dhaka University, and former vice chancellor, National University, talks to The Daily Star’s Naznin Tithi about how universities can recover from learning loss as they are resuming in-person classes and why our universities should continue with online education alongside classroom education.

Zahir Raihan and the making of Jibon Thekey Neya

Being someone who is keen on watching films that were made on our Liberation War in the early seventies—and the films that made an impact on our nation’s movement for freedom—for me, Zahir Raihan is a legend.

‘The biggest way to show respect to the martyrs is to know their history well’

January 20 is observed as Shaheed Asad Day. On this day in 1969, Amanullah Mohammad Asaduzzaman, an MA student of Dhaka University and a leader of the East Pakistan Students’ Union, was killed by the Pakistani police forces while students were holding processions against the repressive regime of Ayub Khan, breaking Section 144 of the constitution imposed by the government.

Greening up the concrete

As I ordered a Hoya and a Dischidia, two beautiful trailing house plants, from a seller online, I was elated to think how easy it has become nowadays to buy plants from various Facebook groups and online shops.

Kobor: A unique artistic representation of an unusual situation

He made it clear at the very beginning that he was passing extremely hectic times and that it would not be possible for him to talk for long.

What do we need DAP for if it makes the city further unliveable?

After years of wait, we are finally going to get the Detailed Area Plan (DAP) 2016-35 for Dhaka. Yet, there is nothing to be happy about it.

‘People should judge our ability not disability’

Monsur Ahmed Chowdhury, Founder Trustee, Impact Foundation Bangladesh, and Member, Executive Board, Disability Council International, talks to The Daily Star’s Naznin Tithi about how to ensure an inclusive environment and society for persons with disabilities.

Why are so many children still dying of pneumonia?

It is hard to believe that three children still die of pneumonia every hour in Bangladesh, according to a recent Prothom Alo report.

Can we turn the city’s waste into wealth?

Recently, Dhaka South City Corporation has brought some changes to its waste collection system, unfortunately creating more dissatisfaction among its inhabitants than relief.

Creative solutions to poverty

Shameran Abed, Senior Director of the Brac Microfinance and Ultra-Poor Graduation programmes, talks to Naznin Tithi of The Daily Star about Bangladesh’s progress in reducing extreme poverty and the challenges ahead, how Brac’s Ultra-Poor Graduation (UPG) programme has fundamentally changed how we look at the ultra-poor, the importance of innovation, women as agents of change, and what the Covid-19 crisis has taught us.

Let our girls reach their full potential

I can’t stop thinking about Lovely—the 14-year-old adolescent girl who used to work at our house and became a full-time companion of my four-year-old son. She first came to our house with her aunt in search of a livelihood. Hailing from a disadvantaged family in Mymensingh, Lovely studied till grade IV and then was sent to the city by her parents to earn a living.

‘Commercialisation of education will only increase inequality in society’

Mujahidul Islam Selim, president of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), talks to Naznin Tithi of The Daily Star about the spirit of the 1962 education movement, the current state of our education system, and how commercialising it helps create further inequality in society.

Passing new laws is not enough for road safety

Two years after the countrywide road safety movement, many of us feel a sense of frustration and disappointment as the much-expected changes are yet to occur.

‘We need to use water to our advantage and learn to live with it’

Marina Tabassum, a seasoned architect who won the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture and the Jameel Prize for designing the Bait Ur Rouf Mosque in Dhaka, talks to The Daily Star’s Naznin Tithi about the future of housing in flood-prone and coastal regions as well as the importance of local knowledge for a sustainable solution to housing.

‘A home-school approach with feature phones can benefit most vulnerable children’

Dr Safiqul Islam, Director, BRAC Education Programme, shares his thoughts with The Daily Star’s Naznin Tithi about the challenges associated with school reopening, ways to recover children’s learning loss over the extended break from school, and BRAC’s education model for this crisis situation. This interview is part of an interview series by The Daily Star that aims to give readers an idea of what changes to expect in a post-Covid-19 world.

‘Not a single person should be left undetected’

Prof. Muzaherul Huq, former adviser, South-East Asia region, World Health Organization (WHO), and founder, Public Health Foundation of Bangladesh, talks to Naznin Tithi of The Daily Star about the way forward in our fight to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Education crisis will be more severe after reopening of schools

The government has decided to keep all educational institutions closed until June 15. Earlier, the PM said that schools might remain closed till September, if the situation did not improve. If schools remain closed for a long period, how will it impact our primary education sector?

Should women alone bear the burden of unpaid work?

For Nasima Begum, a 40-year-old who works as a domestic help in the capital’s Mirpur area, balancing between her paid and unpaid works has become a daily battle ever since she came to Dhaka in search of a livelihood.

Protibha Mutsuddi: An Indomitable Spirit

It was March, 1948. A 13-year-old girl in a remote village in Cox’s Bazar would often hear her seniors at school talk about the extent of discrimination the people of East Pakistan faced everywhere.

Improving Dhaka’s liveability

Every morning, as I step out of my home to go to work, I am faced with the same nuisances: the dilapidated road in front of my house which has been like this for as long as I can remember, the piled up garbage here and there, the open manholes spreading obnoxious smells, and the nonchalant vendors selling vegetables (and even fish) taking up half the space of the road.

Saving our Rivers: “There are several laws which remain largely unenforced”

It is most unfortunate that the situation of the Buriganga could not be improved much even after taking so many steps and projects.

‘Chaos in transport sector cannot be solved by enforcing the law alone’

The new transport law has been watered down quite a bit because of opposition from the transport owners and workers. Even so, the workers called a strike recently demanding amendments to the law. How would you evaluate the new law and the workers’ demands...

Where has all the green gone?

As I pass the planning commission office in Agargaon on a rickshaw, on a jam-packed road in the evening, I cannot help noticing the big advertisements

When search for a livelihood ends in abuse and death

On October 24, Abiron Begum’s family members received her dead body in a coffin from the Shahjalal International Airport.

Violence-Free Campus: Universities must get back control of their halls

In the aftermath of Abrar Fahad’s murder in a BCL “torture cell” at the Sher-e-Bangla Hall of Buet, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed all the educational institutions to look into their student dormitories to find out if there are similar torture cells there as well.

‘Transport sector has become a big hub for extortion’

After last year’s countrywide road safety movement, we hoped that there would be some significant changes in our transport sector because of the big promises made by the government. But unfortunately, the government could not keep its promises, and so no substantive changes have been made.

Forewarning can minimise the devastation of river erosion

We have been witnessing increasing incidents of river erosion this year, which has already devoured vast areas of croplands and homesteads of people across the country. Do you think river erosion has been causing more damage this year compared to previous years?

‘Bilateral approach without powerful underwriting will not solve the Rohingya crisis’

A sustainable solution to the crisis is contingent upon the voluntary repatriation of the Rohingya people to their homeland in Rakhine state in Myanmar, with their safety, security and dignity ensured. After two failed attempts to set the repatriation process on its due

What’s stopping students with disabilities from pursuing education?

Many of us are probably not aware of the condition known in medical science as cerebral palsy, which affects a child’s muscle tone, movement, and motor skills.

Achieving universal literacy status: How far have we progressed?

Right after the country’s independence, when the literacy rate in the country was 16.8 percent (according to UNICEF), a group of young people in Kochubari-Krishtopur, a village of Thakurgaon, started a movement to make all the villagers literate.

City corporations’ inaction and people’s woes

With more than three and a half lakh people already having been infected with dengue fever, as per a report by the daily Prothom Alo on July 23, the dengue situation in the country has gone totally out of control. However, data from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) shows that a total of 7,766 people have been infected till July 23 this year. This is because the DGHS only keeps track of data of some particular hospitals and clinics, and those who were infected but did not go to a hospital were excluded from government estimates.

March 6, 2023

“Bangladesh needs to put forward the ‘transit in exchange for rivers’ formula as the framework for Indo-Bangladesh negotiations”

I have been writing about water development issues since the 1988 flood and, over time, developed a conceptual framework for discussing these issues.

December 4, 2022