United News of Bangladesh

Recently, I accompanied a high-level Bangladeshi delegation on a visit to Beijing’s E-Town area, which is now home to more than 300 robotics companies and a complete industrial chain. In just half an hour, several members of the delegation — including advisers to Bangladesh’s new government and members of parliament — were immersed in what felt like a real-life “world of the future.” They shook hands with robots, watched them dance and make coffee, and even held a conversation with a humanoid robot named “Einstein.”  A young student leader, Md Amanullah Aman, filmed almost every moment of the visit to the robotics exhibition center. He told me he planned to take the video back to Bangladesh to show his friends and classmates. “If one day more young people in Bangladesh can also master robotics technology, it will not only create more employment opportunities for local youth, but also bring the country closer to its dream of prosperity and strength,” he said. What I sensed from the delegation was more than curiosity about new technology; it also reflected the new Bangladeshi government’s interest in deepening ties with China, especially in areas related to innovation, advanced manufacturing, and digital transformation, as well as the strong aspiration of Bangladeshi politicians and the public to accelerate the country’s transition toward high-tech development. Bangladesh’s ambition in technology is not new. Since the launch of the “Digital Bangladesh” initiative in 2008, the country has steadily expanded its ICT sector and built a foundation for digital development. Nationwide telecommunications coverage has improved significantly, and 4G penetration continues to rise. Infrastructure projects involving Chinese companies have also helped strengthen the communications network needed for emerging technologies such as cloud computing and big data. Another major advantage is Bangladesh’s young and dynamic population. Nearly one-third of the country’s citizens are between the ages of 15 and 34, according to the country’s English-language daily newspaper The Daily Star. Universities such as the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and the University of Dhaka offer programs in data science and AI engineering, producing a growing number of skilled graduates each year. With strong English proficiency and relatively low labor costs, Bangladesh is also becoming an increasingly attractive destination for global outsourcing in AI-related services. On the policy front, Bangladesh is moving quickly toward “deep tech.” In recent years, it has placed biotechnology, electronics, artificial intelligence, and robotics within its broader national development agenda. The government has also been working on a more comprehensive AI policy framework to guide research, application, and talent development. These efforts show that Bangladesh is no longer focused only on digital access, but is increasingly looking toward advanced technology and industrial upgrading. China-Bangladesh cooperation in high technology has already moved beyond concept and into practice. In 2024, the two countries upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. A joint statement highlighted China’s support for building a “Smart Bangladesh,” including cooperation in digital innovation laboratories, cloud computing, and digital trade platforms. For Bangladesh, partnering with China in high-tech development is a strategic choice: It can help upgrade the industrial structure and reduce dependence on low-end growth. With its geographic advantages, demographic dividend, and supportive policies — combined with China’s full industrial chain capabilities — Bangladesh has the potential to focus on sectors such as artificial intelligence, software services, electronics manufacturing, and data processing. During this visit, these were exactly the areas the Bangladeshi delegation was most eager to explore. In addition to the robotics exhibition in Beijing’s E-Town, the delegation also traveled to Hefei in Anhui Province, where they visited the production base of JAC Motors. There, they toured advanced new energy vehicle production lines and observed how workers and automated equipment operate in close coordination. They paused frequently to look closely and ask questions as they moved through the facility. The precision, efficiency, and scale of China’s manufacturing system left a strong impression on them. Md. Ismail Zabihullah, Hon'ble Adviser to the Prime Minister and Adviser to the Chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, told me that he was especially surprised and impressed by the robotic surgery demonstration he saw in E-Town. He said Bangladesh’s large population is both a pressure and a resource. What the country needs, he noted, is labor-intensive industry, but it also hopes to bring advanced manufacturing and technological capabilities back home. In his view, China has both. From Beijing’s E-Town to Anhui’s new energy vehicle production base, I watched the Bangladeshi delegation observe robots and AI systems coming to life, as well as advanced manufacturing with genuine curiosity and excitement. In their expressions, I could sense a quiet but powerful sense of possibility. They were not only looking at China’s present — they seemed to be imagining Bangladesh’s future. #By Chen Qingqing The author is deputy director of the news desk with the Global Times.

It is easy to think of Sundarbans conservation as a distant effort involving park rangers and wildlife experts protecting trees and tigers. But what if the story is far more intimate? What if a single awareness program at a local school is actively shaping the safety, resilience, and daily lives of an entire coastal village? During a recent EarthScout School Campaign at Burirdabur SESDP Model Secondary School in Dacope, Khulna, WildTeam offered a deceptively simple explanation. The initiative traces a chain of impact that begins with a student in a classroom but extends deep into the mangrove forest. “By learning to respect the forest ecosystem today, you, the students, are preparing to become the true guardians of this World Heritage site tomorrow,” explained Md Obaidul Islam, Officer-in-Charge of the Loudobe Forest Camp and Chief Guest at the event. This is the architecture of community-led conservation. Why Awareness Matters In ecosystems like the Sundarbans, human activity dictates the health of the forest. Without intervention and education, destructive practices such as poison fishing and wildlife poaching can spiral unchecked, stripping the mangroves of the biodiversity that sustains the region. Supported by German Cooperation GIZ and the Bangladesh Forest Department, the EarthScout campaign aims to regulate these behaviors by engaging the next generation. At Burirdabur, this meant bringing together 320 participants—including 180 female students, 120 male students, and 20 teachers—to understand how every species is connected. The Forest-Community Connection In landscapes where communities actively protect their environment, the ecosystem behaves differently. The mangroves stand stronger, acting as a buffer against cyclones and tidal surges. “The Sundarbans acts as a natural shield for our coastal areas, but it needs our protection from destructive human activities,” Md Obaidul Islam pointed out. Instead of the forest slowly degrading, it flourishes, anchoring the soil and providing a secure barrier for the villages nestled along its edge.

In today’s fast-paced, hyper-connected world, stress has become an unavoidable part of daily life. While a certain amount of stress is natural and even helpful for growth and survival, excessive or unmanaged stress can seriously harm physical health, mental clarity, emotional balance, and overall well-being. Modern lifestyles filled with constant demands, competition, and digital distractions have turned stress into a silent epidemic affecting people of all ages. Stress can be understood as a state of inner imbalance, where the body, mind, emotions, and consciousness are not aligned with each other. For example, the body may be physically present in one place, while the mind is wandering elsewhere, emotions are unsettled, and awareness is disconnected. In such a condition, a person may feel tense, restless, confused, or physically uncomfortable. Simply put, stress arises when the intensity of a situation exceeds a person’s inner capacity to handle it. Therefore, stress management is not only about reducing external problems but also about increasing inner strength, flexibility, and awareness. Modern life presents numerous sources of stress. Financial instability is one of the most common triggers, especially worries related to income, loans, job security, and future savings. Health-related stress is another major factor, including chronic illnesses, persistent pain, or even fear of disease. Relationship conflicts, such as lack of communication, emotional neglect, divorce, or unresolved childhood trauma also contribute significantly to mental exhaustion and emotional distress. Overambition and workload imbalance have become widespread stressors, particularly among young professionals. Trying to manage multiple responsibilities, unrealistic goals, and constant deadlines often leads to burnout. Poor time-management, procrastination, and lack of planning intensify pressure, especially for students and working individuals. Excessive use of gadgets, continuous social media engagement, and digital overload disturb sleep patterns, reduce productivity, and increase anxiety. In addition, substance use, such as alcohol, tobacco, and drugs, is often mistakenly used as a coping mechanism to escape stress. However, science and experience clearly show that these substances worsen stress over time by disturbing the nervous system and emotional balance. Instead of providing relief, they create dependency and long-term health complications. Stress affects multiple layers of the human system. At the physical level, pain, illness, fatigue, or discomfort directly influence mood and behavior. Physical suffering often leads to irritability, lack of focus, and social withdrawal. At the mental level, stress arises when the mind lacks clarity, direction, or purpose, constantly shifting between past regrets and future worries. Emotional stress develops through uncontrolled emotions such as anger, jealousy, guilt, and resentment. These emotions disturb inner peace and weaken relationships. At the level of consciousness, lack of awareness and purpose creates confusion and vulnerability, making individuals more susceptible to stress and distraction. Stress can be classified in different ways. Based on its nature, stress is divided into positive stress(eustress), negative stress(distress), and neutral stress(neustress). Eustress is beneficial and motivating, helping individuals grow and perform better. Situations such as starting a new job, preparing for a presentation, participating in competitions create healthy stress that encourages development. Distress, on the other hand, occurs when demands exceed coping capacity. It is overwhelming, persistent, and harmful, leading to anxiety, burnout, reduced motivation, and health problems. Neustress is neutral stress that neither benefits nor harms significantly, such as hearing distant news or watching informational documentaries. Stress can also be categorized by duration. Acute stress is short-term and arises from immediate challenges like arguments, interviews, or exams. Episodic acute stress involves frequent episodes of acute stress, often seen in people with hectic lifestyles, constant worry, or poor self-organization. Chronic stress is long-term and deeply damaging, resulting from ongoing problems such as poverty, unhappy marriages, job dissatisfaction, or prolonged health and family issues. Negative and chronic stress gradually affects the body and mind. Research indicates that stress is an underlying cause of nearly 80% of illnesses, and 75–80% of hospital visits are linked to stress-related conditions. Physical symptoms include headaches, heart palpitations, sleep disturbances, unexplained fatigue, body pain, digestive issues, weight changes, excessive sweating, and trembling etc.. Mental and emotional symptoms include anxiety, fear, sadness, mood swings, anger, guilt, social withdrawal, poor concentration, and difficulty making decisions. Stress triggers the release of cortisol, a vital hormone that regulates energy, blood sugar, inflammation, blood pressure, and the sleep–wake cycle. While cortisol is essential, imbalances-either too high or too low can severely affect physical and mental health. Chronic stress keeps cortisol levels higher, weakening immunity and increasing disease risk and drag towards suicide. Alarming global data shows that suicide claims a life every 40 seconds, with nearly 800,000 deaths annually, particularly among young people aged 15 to 29. Fortunately, stress can be reduced naturally through simple daily habits. Spending quality time with friends and family, sharing joys and challenges and maintaining social connections provide emotional support. Proper time management, balanced schedules, and hobbies restore mental freshness. Aligning with nature by waking early, walking barefoot on natural ground, and receiving early morning sunlight improves energy and mood. A light, natural, plant-based diet, adequate hydration, regular body relaxation, and periodic fasting help detoxify the body and calm the mind. Yoga, pranayama, and meditation form a complete system for stress management. Yoga asanas improve physical health and flexibility, pranayama regulates breath and emotions, and meditation enhances focus and awareness. These practices help balance energy centers, calm the nervous system, and harmonize the body-mind connection. Regular practice leads to stable heart rate, improved oxygen utilization, balanced blood pressure, better immunity, and regulated stress hormones. These practices also boost the production of “happy hormones” such as endorphins, serotonin, melatonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and DMT, promoting joy, relaxation, deep sleep, bonding, and inner peace. Studies, including research from Harvard University, show that yoga and meditation can be as effective as medication for managing conditions like high blood pressure, chronic pain, and digestive disorders. Consistent practice has even been associated with increased life expectancy. In conclusion, stress is not just an emotional reaction but a multi-layered imbalance affecting the body, mind, emotions, and consciousness. By cultivating awareness, discipline, and healthy daily practices, stress can be transformed from a destructive force into a source of strength, clarity, and personal growth. Anima Bhandari is currently serving as a Trainer at Jeevan Vigyan Foundation and as the Branch Manager of Nabil Bank at its Kantipath Branch  

There was a time when sailboats swayed on its crystal-clear waters, and the songs of boatmen painted a timeless picture of rural Bengal. Today, the Labandaha river of Gazipur stands among the most endangered rivers in the country — like a wounded body, barely breathing. In the iron grip of encroachment and pollution, this river is losing its glory. Only its memory remains, alongside a suffocating shell of what it once was. The death of Labandaha is not merely the story of one river; it is a long tale of neglect, greed, and indifference. Choked by plastic waste, industrial effluents, and municipal garbage, it ranks among the most polluted rivers in the country. In fact, calling it a river at this point is generous — "canal" or "drain" would be more accurate. Experts say that the burden of unplanned development across the country is falling squarely on its rivers. Tragically, waterways are now considered the ideal dumping ground for waste from virtually every sector. And since rivers are now recognised as living entities, their deaths will ultimately be measured in terms of the human lives they endanger. Climate Change and Health Impacts – An Economic Case for Investment in Bangladesh A Research WarningA recent study covering 56 major rivers found Gazipur's Labandaha among the three most polluted. Conducted by the River and Delta Research Centre (RDRC) in 2022–23, the study measured water quality across these rivers and found that plastic and industrial pollution has spread not only to urban and semi-urban rivers, but even to those in remote areas. For Labandaha, all four water quality indicators necessary to sustain aquatic life and biodiversity are now at alarming levels. Under the Environment Conservation Policy 1997, the ideal pH level of river water should fall between 6 and 9. Labandaha's pH stands at just 5. The Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) should be 200 mg per litre, but here it is recorded at 46 mg/L. Dissolved Oxygen (DO), which should range between 4.5 and 8 mg/L, has collapsed to just 0.21 mg/L. Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), with a standard of 50 mg/L, registers at 34.2 mg/L. These figures tell the story of a river on the brink of total collapse. A River That Was Once a SeaLocal lore has it that Labandaha was once so vast it was called the "Lablong Sagar" the Lablong Sea. The river originates at the confluence of the Kshiru river in Bhaluka Upazila of Mymensingh district, flows through Sreepur Upazila in Gazipur, and eventually merges with the Turag river near Mirzapur. But who devoured this once-mighty river? How did it shrink into a tiny drain? Today it functions as little more than an open sewer. Research shows that while plastic pollution is a common ailment, it is primarily factory effluents and municipal waste that have finished off Labandaha. A look at the industrial concentration around the river makes the cause clear. The RDRC study identified 250 factories along its banks, every one of them discharging chemical waste directly into the river alongside all the municipal waste from Sreepur town. Pollution extends across roughly 30 kilometres through the Sreepur section alone. Around the Gazipur stretch, 39 industrial units have been established, all with waste pipelines connected directly to the river. On top of this, 15 municipal sewage lines and 11 dumping stations drain into it. According to the NGO Nodi Paribrajak (River Wanderers), when both registered and unregistered factories are counted, approximately 2,000 factories surround the Labandaha river. The result: an once-mighty river has been encroached upon and filled in until it is now little more than a canal or a drain, stripped even of the conditions necessary for fish and aquatic life to survive. The Spreading DamageThe impact of Labandaha's pollution has rippled outward into surrounding farmland and, ultimately, into the Turag river at its end. Chemical contamination from factory waste has rendered thousands of bighas of agricultural land in the surrounding area incapable of producing crops. Saif Chowdhury, President of the Nodi Paribrajak group's Sreepur chapter, explains: "Labandaha is responsible for 70 to 75 percent of the pollution in the Turag river. From Maona Uttarpara to Gargoria Masterbari alone, thousands of bighas of farmland have been abandoned. These fields have become wastelands where they receive factory waste, medical waste, municipal waste, and domestic waste alike." He further adds: "There are poultry feed factories, pharmaceutical factories, metal factories, and garment dyeing units between one and a half to two thousand factories in total. As a result, heavy metals including chromium, manganese, and lead are mixing into the water and soil here. The farmland is finished. Serious diseases are even spreading among the local population." According to the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, Sreepur Upazila alone has 438 active industrial units, with 73 of them concentrated in Maona Union. The Gazipur District Agriculture Extension Department reports that factory waste has already damaged 380 hectares of farmland across the district. The fear is real: Gazipur, once fertile, may soon be entirely stripped of its agricultural capacity. An unplanned industrial zone is killing a river; crop production faces an existential threat; and human lives hang in the balance. Environmentalists argue that proper waste management from factories and municipalities could have prevented all of this. The Law and the Way to Save LabandahaThe country's Supreme Court has declared Bangladesh's rivers to be "living entities" juristic or legal persons granting them fundamental rights similar to those of human beings. Yet neither factory owners, nor encroachers, nor even municipal authorities seem to pay any heed to this. Environmental lawyers point out that killing a river amounts to killing a living being. A river may be a living entity in the eyes of the law but it cannot walk into a courtroom to plead its own case against pollution or its own slow death. Someone must stand on the river's behalf. But that "someone" is rarely found. And in most cases, that someone likely lacks the power to stand against such influential forces. And so the river dies, its stench forcing a threat upon the lives of the people around it. The path to saving Labandaha and all other at-risk rivers follows a similar route. River experts say that the monsoon season is the greatest natural blessing for river restoration. But to make use of the monsoon, all forms of waste from factories and every other source must first be managed properly within regulations. Then, before the rains arrive, the river must be dredged. If these steps are taken, even a near-dead river can be brought back to life by the monsoon. Public awareness must also be raised alongside these efforts. Researchers say that development planning must be built on the understanding that rivers are public assets and that protecting them is essential to human survival. There is absolutely no justification for killing rivers in the name of unplanned development or job creation. Experts believe that if we do not want the list of polluted rivers to grow any longer, planned development, enforcement of the law, coordinated projects, and collective public awareness are all urgently needed. Rivers cannot be saved by budgets and projects alone; what they need is genuine liberation. And in this struggle for liberation, let a river-loving, youthful Bangladesh rise and roar. Only then will the rivers be saved and when the rivers are saved, the country will be saved. And the lives of the people will become easier.

WildTeam has launched the Training Programme on Safety Measures and Awareness Building for Forest-Dependent People – 2026 in Joymoni under the Chandpai Range of Mongla and Kolbari under the Satkhira Range of the Sundarbans, reinforcing a vital message at the forest edge: protecting human life and conserving wildlife must go hand in hand. The initiative is being implemented under the five-year programme “Protecting Bengal Tiger and Biodiversity of the Sundarbans,” supported by Echotex and Echoknits, a Bangladesh–UK joint venture. Designed for people whose lives and livelihoods depend on the forest, the training equips participants with practical knowledge on forest safety, human–tiger conflict mitigation, wildlife and forest laws, compensation provisions, basic first aid, and the sustainable harvesting and processing of forest resources. Safety kit boxes have also been distributed among participants to improve emergency preparedness and reduce risk while entering or working near the forest.

Today marks the first death anniversary of A. A. M. S. Arefin Siddique, the 27th vice-chancellor of University of Dhaka, whose transformative leadership and dedication to education left an indelible mark on Bangladesh’s academic landscape. In his memory, Dr Md. Anwarul Islam, CEO of WildTeam and Former Professor of the Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, reflects on Siddique’s visionary approach, his commitment to nurturing generations of scholars, and the enduring legacy of integrity, innovation and inspiration he instilled in the university and beyond. I was then the Director of the Biotechnology Research Centre of Dhaka University. One afternoon, a board of members’ meeting was scheduled in the vice-chancellor’s meeting room. Everyone was waiting. I went to the vice-chancellor, Professor Arefin Siddique, to ensure everyone’s presence.As soon as he got up from his chair, a young student seeking admission entered and said that he had something to say. The student said to the calm vice-chancellor: “My father is very poor and lives in a village. I want to study at Dhaka University.” Prof Siddique replied, “Yes, apply and take the admission test. If you pass, you will certainly be admitted.” When the student asked, “What if I don’t pass?” Prof Siddique replied, “Then there is nothing to be done.” The student again said, “Sir, in any case, please admit me.” Hearing this, there was no sign of annoyance in the vice-chancellor’s eyes, nor did he ignore or disdain the student. Only after explaining the matter and politely dismissing him did he come to preside over the meeting. It is worth noting that during his tenure as vice-chancellor, no one had to seek permission to enter his room. “Stay good” were the last two sentences the vice-chancellor would often say. He used to end his discussions with these words: “Stay good” (valo theko or valo thakben). This was no exception. After his death, a former student of his department said on a television channel, “Mass communication and journalism are not only taught in the classroom; even when Arefin Siddique Sir was simply standing, the language of mass communication could be learned from his physical expressions.” As his colleague, I witnessed this as well. It is often said that the people of southern Bangladesh are more hospitable. But Professor Arefin Siddique from Narsingdi proved that hospitality knows no regional boundaries. After his tenure as vice-chancellor is over, he did not lack assistants, yet whenever I visited his house, he would personally bring snacks on a tray and serve it himself. He last entertained me on 30 December 2024. My zoology teacher and former Dean, Faculty of Biological Sciences and Pro Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University, Professor Dr Md. Shahadat Ali, lost his wife on 18 December 2024. Professor Siddique, my teacher Professor Gulshan Ara Latifa and I attended the funeral on 20 December.On 29 December, Arefin Sir called and said, “Shahadat Shaheb must be very upset; let’s visit him.” The next day I went to his house in Dhanmondi for that reason. I had taken off my shoes and was sitting in the drawing room in my socks. He asked why I had taken off my shoes. He brought a pair of sandals himself and, despite my objections, insisted that I wear those. Then he brought snacks with his own hands — I had to finish it all. After the death of our respected Bhabi, Shahadat Sir was deeply broken. Towards the end of the conversation with Arefin Sir, he smiled and said, “Arefin Shaheb, today, after a long time, it feels like we are sitting at the Dhaka University Club, having tea and chatting.” On our way back to the car, we spoke a lot. He highly praised the present vice-chancellor of Dhaka University, Professor Niaz Ahmed Khan. As far as I remember, he said: “When I was vice-chancellor, Professor Niaz was the chairman of his department. He always seemed like a positive person.” Professor Niaz Ahmed Khan also showed the highest respect for him and the university after Arefin Sir’s death. The nation witnessed the deep respect the vice-chancellor had for his colleagues. He proved that there is no shortage of values in the Dhaka University family — values that Arefin Sir expressed in almost all his speeches. There was a time when the words “Arefin Siddique and Dhaka University” became almost synonymous. I have never seen this selfless, ungreedy man upset. Once I heard that he might become the chairman of the University Grants Commission. Eventually, he was not given the position. Many years later, I asked him about it. He replied with a smile: “The head of the government has to consider many things while running the country. In that sense, the right decision was made.”  The vice-chancellor is the guardian of all teachers, students, officers and employees of Dhaka University. Professor Arefin Siddique spent many sleepless nights performing his duties.I was then the chairman of the Zoology Department when our first-year student Afia Jahan Chaity died on 18 May 2017 after being admitted to a private hospital. When I informed the vice-chancellor, he immediately said the university was ready to do everything for the student. Later, the university authorities filed a case against the doctors concerned. Once case was filed, doctors from all over Bangladesh got united and went on a movement and formed a human chain in the capital’s Shahbag. My closest relatives, who were doctors, also became strangers to me instantly. The university proctor told me to request the vice-chancellor to withdraw the case.When pressure mounted to withdraw the case, the vice-chancellor said firmly: “Give my student back and I will withdraw the case.” Eventually, after compensation was provided to the family, the case was withdrawn.Sometimes discussions arose about banning outsiders from entering the campus during holidays. One day I asked his opinion. He said, “Dhaka University is for everyone. If people cannot come here, where will they go? Children and young people will come, see the university and dream.” He often said that the feeling of adapting to us is decreasing day by day. Just as he thought about society, he also cared deeply about nature. In 2012, on behalf of WildTeam, we organised a rally from Khulna City to Khulna University to raise awareness about the tigers and the Sundarbans conservation. Professor Arefin Siddique joined us to inaugurate the programme: Sundarban Mayer Moton (Motherly Sundarbans).

Growing up in rural Bhutan, I did not learn the meaning of resilience from textbooks. I learnt it from the women in my life. I learnt it from my mother, who worked in our fields, understood the rhythms of the seasons better than any meteorologist, and still found time to manage home and ensure that her children received an education. I remember people from my village and surrounding villages visiting our home to seek counsel from her on complex issues like inheritance disputes. She did it all with quiet strength but never called it leadership. But that is exactly what it was. I learnt it from the women farmers who could read the sky and the soil. They were the first to worry when crops failed. They were the ones who rationed food so everyone could eat. They walked longer distances when water sources dried up. I learnt it from teachers who insisted that leadership was not defined by gender or a sense of entitlement but by character and service. Long before climate change became a global agenda item, the women in our region were already adapting. They were climate leaders without ever being called so. Today, the world has the language to describe what they lived through. Climate change amplifies existing inequalities. It threatens livelihoods, health, and dignity, and it does so disproportionately for women and girls. Women remain historically underrepresented in the design, implementation, and financing of climate action. Under a worst-case climate scenario, an estimated 158 million more women and girls could be pushed into poverty, which is 16 million more than the projected number of men and boys. (UN Women) At recent global climate forums, the imbalance remains visible. At COP29, only 6 out of 78 leaders referenced the impacts of climate change on women, and four of those voices were women themselves (WEDO). This is not just a representation gap. It is a leadership gap in shaping solutions. The climate finance landscape reflects a similar imbalance. Out of USD 33.1 billion per year in bilateral climate-related development assistance, only 57% integrates gender considerations, and only 2.4% has gender equality as a principal objective (OECD DAC, 2022). In mitigation finance, the figure drops to just 2% (OECD, 2022). For adaptation, it is 4% (OECD CRS, 2022). And when we look at projects that explicitly target both climate adaptation and gender equality, the number stands at a mere 0.1%. (OECD, 2022) We are integrating gender. But we are not prioritising it. This year’s International Women’s Day theme, ‘Give to Gain’, resonates deeply with me. In our culture, we often say that generosity strengthens community. When you give land to build a school, you gain an educated generation. When you give trust, you gain loyalty. When you give opportunity, you gain transformation. If we give women meaningful space in climate decision-making, we gain more inclusive and effective policies. If we give funding directly to women-led and community-based institutions, we gain stronger adaptation outcomes. If we give visibility to women’s leadership, we gain accountability in climate governance. If we give better data and evidence, we gain smarter and more equitable investments. If we give institutional commitment, not just policy language, we gain lasting change. Across the Hindu Kush Himalaya, women are already on the front lines, leading sustainable agriculture, managing water resources, responding to disasters, preserving biodiversity, and holding communities together in times of crisis. But too often, they lack access to finance, technology, and platforms to scale their contributions. At the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), as we move forward into our next Medium-Term Action Plan, our commitment is clear: to make strategic investments in women and systematically include them across our science, policy, and finance platforms; to strengthen tracking of gender equality and social inclusion; and to ensure that climate finance in the Hindu Kush Himalaya reaches those who are already leading change on the ground. But beyond institutional commitments, I carry something more personal. Every time I meet women farmers in the mountains of our region, I see reflections of my mother. I see the same quiet determination. The same intelligence is rooted in lived experience. The same ability to hold families and ecosystems together under stress. Living in the mountains has taught me that resilience is not abstract. It has a face. It has a voice. And very often, it is a woman’s voice. On this International Women’s Day, let us celebrate women’s contributions and invest in them. Let us not only acknowledge inequality, but also correct it. Let us not only integrate gender, but also prioritise it. Because when we truly give to women, we do not diminish ourselves. We gain stronger communities. We gain a more resilient planet. And that’s something worth fighting for. Happy International Women’s Day. Pema Gyamtsho is the current Director General at International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

So, the ultimate noisy, brattish, flippant, hyper serious Saleem Samad is gone. To the world he was the fearless journalist and media activist but to us he was our old from Shaheen school, batch of 1969. He was the same person all his life, not serious it would seem except for matters that really mattered to him but always a friend, always acting as if life was a party of old friends where he could make the most noise. The hot Ovaltine in the CHT story School days were simpler for all of us where the world was so limited and safe but life changed after SSC exams as we all drifted to different institutions and destinations. Saleem was not the kind to climb educational ladders and he ended up as a journalist which truly suited him. If anything, it was tailor made for him and he chased stories, did interviews and wrote them in his slightly off grammar English that was soon gathering attention. He walked the ranks with various English dailies and was soon a name known to many. He made his name in the late 70s with a report on the Shanti Bahini insurrection having found contacts to take him there in the CHT hills. It came out in the Bangla version of the  Ittefaq group – Weekly Robbar- and that brought him great fame and familiarity. I would tease him about his story content where he mentioned drinking hot Ovaltine offered by the SB and all that. It was a great story and Saleem even had to undergo interrogation by the authorities for his trip and all that but he survived and went on with his work merrily. At Bangladesh Today and Dhaka Courier We met as colleagues at Bangladesh Today in the early 80s, a superbly produced and written monthly that had many old and new friends involved. It was one of the best English mags in the country and caught everyone’s immediate attention. The guy-in-charge was Syed Mahmud Ali who later joined the BBC and a host of young and mid- level journos worked and chatted there. Subrata Dhar, Nadeem Quadir, Zahed Khan, Belal Chowdhury, Kalam Mahmud,  Hasan Ferdous, Saleem and myself were some names in the crowd. Most were contributors but we all became part of a team that pushed a work of excellence.   What was most fun was of course the eternal adda we all had where Saleem would get his legs pulled really hard. It bred relationships that never died and after so many years many recalled those happy days… I left in 1984 to join Dhaka Courier and soon Saleem also became a regular contributor there. However, I lead a bit of a peripatetic life and left in 1986 to join the UN though my links with the media remained. And with Saleem too, The jailed journalist Saleem did full time jobs, part time ones too but all were within the media world. His reputation grew as did his freelancing work. In 2002, while freelancing for an international media outfit, Saleem was arrested for ‘anti-state “activities and in jail for over 2 months. He was finally released after his arrest became an international cause for media freedom everywhere. Not only did many speak up about him but he himself became an activist and remained so for the rest of his life. It was truly a game changing episode of his life. Saleem remained active in the media freedom sector and when we both met in Toronto in 2007, Saleem was running an online portal but also active as a media freedom pusher. That had become his profile and allowed Saleem to push his causes. By the time we both returned after declining to be Canadian citizens, Saleem had gained a global media activist profile. Later life His later years were full of many activisms, column writings and social activities. He was a keen Shaheen school alumni activist and made many new friends from new generations. That’s where I last met him. We talked as two ancient friends do. He had muscle and pain issues and even entered the CRP a couple of times. We last chatted on the phone a couple of months back  about his aches and pains and that was that. And then this news. I am still struggling to process it.. So how does one say goodbye to a friend of 60+ years? Briefly, I hope. So farewell old friend till we meet again in the great newsroom up there where nothing including news making  ever ends. Best wishes    

Dhaka, the planet’s second most populous city, is on track to become the world’s largest city by 2050, according to the UN World Urbanization Prospects 2025 report. This dramatic rise is largely due to the millions of rural-to-urban migrants seeking work, safety, and survival in the city. Urban Bangladesh is quite literally built by migrants, yet the state’s social safety nets are designed as if the urban poor, predominantly rural-to-urban migrants, do not exist. When more inclusive social safety nets are imagined, they miss the spatial realities that structure migrants’ everyday lives in Bangladesh’s cities. More bluntly, Bangladesh’s social protection efforts continue to have a rural bias. Research by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (2023) emphasizes, for instance, that urban poor households remain systematically excluded from more than 115 safety net schemes nationwide. The government’s fears that urban safety nets might encourage migration are often cited to justify exclusion, even though allowance amounts are far too small to offset the cost of urban living. We, therefore, end up in a social safety net architecture that treats urban migrants as invisible people rather than legitimate city dwellers. The Scale of Urban Exclusion The scale of urban migrant exclusion from social safety net programmes (SSNPs) is well documented. A 2025 UNDP policy brief stated that while nearly one-third of Bangladesh’s population now lives in cities, only about 20 per cent of social protection beneficiaries are urban, and programmes exclusively targeting urban populations receive just 4 percent of total social protection spending. Nearly two-thirds of extremely poor urban households receive no social protection at all, a far higher exclusion rate than in rural areas. Even flagship programmes such as old-age, widow, and disability allowances show minimal urban reach, and in some cases such as the widow allowance they are not operational in city corporation areas. As a result, poor urban migrants are left to survive the city without any social buffer. The Bangladesh state is cognizant of the urban gap in its SSNPs. In 2020, the government developed the Urban Social Protection Strategy and Action Plan, explicitly acknowledging that Bangladesh’s social protection system had failed to recognise the vulnerabilities of the urban poor, including migrants living in informal settlements. The strategy recognised that urban poverty is not only about income, but about insecure housing, lack of tenure, informal employment, weak social networks, exposure to violence, and exclusion from basic services, arguably making urban deprivation harsher than rural poverty. The action plan proposed a three-part framework: expanding rural programmes into cities, introducing urban labour-market interventions, and developing social insurance for urban workers. Yet five years on, this agenda remains stalled. The action plan called for expanding allowances, food security programmes, urban workfare, and national social insurance; for creating a single registry; for ensuring portability for mobile populations; and for addressing land tenure insecurity in slums. None of this has come to pass. Perhaps, the action plan’s stalled status provides us an opportunity to imagine a more robust, security and resilience oriented, city-specific approach to social safety nets for urban migrants. Missing Urban Social Safety Net is a Security and Climate Risk Afterall, the absence of urban social safety nets is not only a poverty issue. It is a security and climate risk. In cities like Dhaka, migrants are concentrated in the most heat-exposed, flood-prone, and polluted neighbourhoods, while working in the most climate-sensitive and informal jobs. Without income protection, healthcare, housing, or legal recognition, climate shocks quickly translate into displacement, illness, conflict, and social unrest. Policing and disaster response cannot compensate for this structural vulnerability. Urban social protection is therefore the frontline for climate adaptation and preventive security rolled into one. Need to Embed Social Safety Nets in Everyday Spaces Existing policy recommendations still imagine social protection as a set of programmes delivered through eligibility lists and transfers. But migration is a spatial process, and protection must respond to that reality. Global comparative research on urban safety nets shows that income support alone is insufficient in cities; protection must be linked to housing, healthcare, childcare, employability, and violence prevention. In dense urban settings, social protection works only when it is spatiallyembedded. If urbanizing Bangladesh is serious about protecting migrants, social protection must begin at the moment of arrival, in the places where migrants arrive over and over. We need welcome centres at bus terminals, truck stands, and transport hubs, places where migrants first enter the city. These centres can register inflows and outflows, provide first aid, drinking water, washing and ablution spaces, and connect people to jobs, housing, healthcare, schools, and legal support. They can also issue simple, non-punitive work licences or tokens that enable access to income without criminalising informality. Beyond arrival, protection must secure the conditions of everyday life. This means safe dormitories and WASH facilities, pathways to family housing, health insurance and a strengthened urban primary healthcare system, and schools that welcome mobile populations rather than excluding children for lack of fixed addresses. Public health must be treated as a right: enforcing food safety standards, maintaining minimum air-quality thresholds, and guaranteeing water, sanitation, and waste services in migrant settlements. Social protection must also include security and care; stronger law-and-order protection in vulnerable neighbourhoods, and public spaces for sports and recreation that help rebuild social ties in harsh urban environments. Vulnerable people often are not aware of programmes or schemes that may help them. This is why they should be able to access social safety nets precisely in the places where they experience vulnerability, meaning the city’s terminals, pavements, worksites, clinics, schools, streets, and so on. A migrant-centred safety net must be synced to the spatial and lived everyday realities of migrants. Bangladesh must, in other words, urbanize its social safety nets. As our cities continue to grow through migration and climate stress, they cannot function with security and resilience without protecting migrants. We are certainly grappling with a political failure to act on commitments, but perhaps more profoundly we are grappling with the failure to imagine an everyday lived social safety net approach for urban migrants. By Mohammad Azaz and Efadul Huq. Mohammad Azaz is the Administrator of Dhaka North City Corporation. Efadul Huq, Phd, is Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Policy and Urban Studies at Smith College. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the article are those of the respective authors.

You would not believe it when I say that walking at night is the most relaxing thing in the world for me. As evening approaches and the yellow of the sky is replaced with black, the lights of different houses in neighborhoods flicker open exposing the streets-and people on the streets-to a pallid, shadowy hue. Going back through memory lane, my evening walks in Dhaka as a child meant me being hoisted off the floor by either my uncle or some other relative and toured around the neighborhood block. The sky would change color according to its own will and choice. In the long run it meant me often walking and looking up at the changing sky and watching its various shades spread all over the blue. Walking past a shop and being careful not to get hit by a car on the pedestrian sidewalk, I would ask my uncle, aunt etc to buy me something to eat. They would always oblige and I would revel at the opportunity to get something tasty to eat every time we went on a walk. Aside from that….. Walking-or going out-by night meant watching traffic in Dhaka’s busiest streets, people getting off their cars in the middle of the road and/or buying a tiny packet of badam from a street side vendor and such other sights. But I also remember that one would have to be careful while walking on the streets in the late evening so safety was a big thing. Everyone in Dhaka knows things could go out of control in a span of minutes. The sights varied and in my memory’s mirror I can see my own para with its many real-life paintings in motion or in still. The elderly walk out at night to reach parks or visit a shop to buy groceries. These would be people in their 70s and 80s going out to catch a breadth of fresh air sometimes with family escorts or occasionally by themselves. Safety was a major concern for them taking this evening walk bordering on the early dark. It’s not crime that the family is worried about but these elderly people falling down and hurting themselves. Thankfully, such scenes were rare but after all these years my memory of that anxiety still remains.   Maybe crime was an issue in some parts of the city but older residents are also stronger now, more self- reliant and taking care of themselves better. But it’s true I wish I saw a would-be snatcher getting whacked by an old man like a senior citizen version of superman. But it’s true, overall for Dhaka, precautions must be taken at night by those who want a taste of walking in Dhaka at night. Toronto Visiting cafes in Toronto at night time is different from Dhaka’s night time. With safety and security well taken care of, taking a walk to a neighborhood park is not an issue of concern for night strollers. When I was there, I would watch from my veranda the neighbourhood as night fell after the evening had gone to bed. The park was just a few blocks away where so many came around to taste the night descends amidst the trees. So much would happen there. It had swings and other playground toys for children. There was a large space for events and activities held in the park. I would enjoy riding the swings at the park in the daytime but I would not go out at night alone as a stabbing had once occurred there a few days back and so for many children, night outs were off for a while. But then crime is so low in that city that family walks returned and the night was claimed back by the people living there. For those living in downtown Toronto, the lights, busy streets and endless people walking through offer a visual and sensory stimulation of their own. Downtown Toronto offers many peaceful delights, like the cafe where some of them one can even pet a cat as an extra. Interestingly, such joints have now opened in Dhaka too. In terms of the cozy feel that one gets visiting a nearby convenience store, Toronto and Dhaka both offer that sense of pleasure including visiting vendors or joints for a midnight snack and tea. Both cities are different and also the same in many ways. Both have their own tongues in which they speak to the residents but both are welcoming to all. Toronto is in the richer part of the world so many matters of safety and pleasure are taken for granted but Dhaka with all its limitations offers an experience all of its own.   So get up, open the door and take a walk as the lights come on.