Unique Universe

Water

By Raida K Reza

You come home after a busy day, open the tap to get freshened up, and you find that there's no water a common scenario that all of us have to face. One would think water problem is not a factor for a country like ours - having about forty major rivers, but it has become a big crisis. Water enters a city, becomes contaminated with human and industrial wastes, and leaves the city dangerously polluted. Toxic industrial wastes discharged into rivers and lakes or into wells also permeate aquifers, making water-both surface and underground - unsafe for drinking. And their toxic wastes are destroying marine ecosystems, including local fisheries. About twenty nine million litres of treated water comes into the capital each day, but does not fulfil our needs.

Water-based sewage systems take nutrients originating in the soil and typically dump them into rivers, lakes, or the sea. Not only are the nutrients lost from agriculture, but the nutrient overload has led to the death of many rivers and to the formation of some 200 dead zones in ocean coastal regions. Unhealthy water causes deaths of more than 14,000 people daily, and thousands of people suffer from drinking water crisis daily in BD. The water pipe and the waste water pipe got connected in old Dhaka and the water that came out was literally water with faeces.

Taking small steps can help a lot, like the saying goes 'drop by drop makes an ocean'. We can start by reducing wastage of water, and spreading the awareness. New and improved water plants have been introduced recently by JAGO Water Purification Products, but we can start conserving by following some tips. Don't use your toilet as a waste bin (for tissues etc.), as unessential flushing can waste more than 12 gallons a day. Take a shower instead of a bath and save 15 gallons of water every time. Water plants in the evening to avoid the water evaporating. Always try to use a watering can, not a hose. Install a water butt to collect rainwater for your garden.

Mr Aritfur Rahman from NGO for drinking water supply and sanitation says that a rainwater saving plant is being set-up in Gulshan. This is a very efficient way, as it does not require water to be pumped from the ground and purified with chemicals. The water itself is pure. Deep tube wells can be an alternative idea for us. It might seem very rural, but it can be a way out! There are recycling systems, but not the household water recycling system. If that is introduced, the water problems might just decrease in a very massive amount. He also tells us that it is too much for us to expect from the WASA as they are already doing what they can. We need to step up and start initiatives for ourselves.

Sources: http://environment.about. com/ od/ environmentalevents/a/waterdayqa.htm
http://www.gov.im/dlge/waste/tips/home/water.xml

A Foul Feast of Love

By Adnan M. S. Fakir & Wajed-Al-Rahman

Would you kindly indulge yourself,
Feast on the fallacy of love
Of scrumptious desires gone rotten
Of plucked eyes made drunk on meager wine.
Feast my dear beloved,
On appetizers filled with caring warmth
Neglected yet satiated with your words of yearn;
With your tender lips trace the edge and
Drink up the bliss you diligently ignored
On nights of unattended calls of adore.
Be sure to meticulously hone your table knife
Before digging into my freshly served wounds
Spiced up with talks of naïve passion
That you may also kindly ignore.

Ignore too, my childlike heart
My dreams of an unlikely tomorrow;
The beacons are dead that lit the dark
Your whims on the wings of a sparrow.
I walk the corridor of souls
Reveling in the foul stench it exudes;
I am here, I am all you see
Lain bare as a vice that frolics among many virtues.
The souls that belittle the lust of love
Glare like the snares of envied compassion,
Strung on beads of glass soaked on rotting minds
Plucked from the very necklace of pearl
I had bestowed around your luscious neck,
I will serve to you as supper;
Taste it, slurp it in your tongue's delight
And by the scatters of paint that fill the night sky, joyous
I plead thee to haunt your mind evermore
While you read and satisfy this feast of mine.

All that was fair to me is wooed
All that was wooed now fair,
The paint on your face so fraught with lies
Is the only truth left to hear.
Your feast is ready
I lie stuffed and primed,
Roasted, marinated,
Subjected to all that would endorse your approval;
I lay eyes wide open, mind shut
gagged by the apple of my desire.
My desire that will not let me rest
unless it be at your table,
the piece de resistance.
My mind is closed for all but you
That the poison of your tongue may sweeten my ears,
yet you are bored - stifled, you yawn
The cavern of your mouth arrayed with knifelike teeth;
Could anything be more gentle
more praiseworthy in all the realms of humanity?

…and thus I wait
for a tender and sweet
foul feast of love.