Atif M Safi’s blog

সুন্দর করে সাজিয়ে দাও
আমার অন্তরে ঢুকে যাও
চোখ বড়ই সাদা কালো
কেন বল কেন বল
অপেক্ষায় সৃষ্টি মধুর
বৃষ্টির পর রংধনু

রাঙ্গিয়ে দাও রাঙ্গিয়ে নাও
আমার সত্তাকে
আষাঢ় শ্রাবণ কার্তিক পৌষ মাসে
আমার মনে যেন রং লেগে থাকে সারাটি ক্ষণ

গ্রীষ্ম বর্ষা শরৎ হেমন্ত কালে
বন্ধুদের আড্ডার হালে চালে
গভীর প্রেমের অবসরে
সৃষ্টিকর্তার বিশাল বাঁধা ঘরে

সুন্দর করে গেয়ে যাও
আমার মনটারে রাঙ্গিয়ে দাও
বিসাদ নিরাময় করে
আমার অন্তরে হারিয়ে যাও

রাঙ্গিয়ে দাও রাঙ্গিয়ে নাও
আমার সত্তাকে
আষাঢ় শ্রাবণ কার্তিক পৌষ মাসে
আমার মনে যেন রং লেগে থাকে সারাটি ক্ষণ

গ্রীষ্ম বর্ষা শরৎ হেমন্ত কালে
বন্ধুদের আড্ডার হালে চালে
গভীর প্রেমের অবসরে
সৃষ্টিকর্তার বিশাল
বাঁধা ঘরের মাঝে আমারই ঠাঁই
এত রং ফেলে কোথায় যাই

সুন্দর করে গেয়ে যাও
আমার মনটারে রাঙ্গিয়ে দাও
আমার অন্তরে ঢুকে যাও
রাঙ্গিয়ে দাও

The disaster which took place as a result of heavy rainfall in Chittagong on the 11th of June, 2007, needs assessment of why it took place. The death of more than a hundred people due to the landslide caused by the rains has brought home to us some rather unpalatable truths about a situation that has been in the making for a long time.
At least 128 people were killed and hundreds more injured as torrential rains sparked off a series of devastating landslides in Chittagong, plunging the country's second largest city into chaos. The highest number of casualties occurred at Lebu Bagan of Chittagong Cantonment, Power Colony at Pahartali and Garbibullah Shah’s mazar (shrine) adjoining Kusumbagh Residential Area. According to various newspapers and the electronic media, the relentless cutting of hills is mainly responsible for the frequent landslides, including disaster of the 11th of June in Chittagong. However, after the field visit to the above mentioned areas on the 26th and 27th of June, we were surprised to discover, after interviewing the affected families and observing the surrounding areas, that what we have learned from the media is not the whole truth.
In the case of Lebu Bagan, the affected hills were just within the northern periphery of the army’s residential area of Chittagong Cantonment. The Army Firing Range is located on the eastern side of the hills. The affected people have been living on the foothills for the past 20 to 40 years. According to an elderly foothill dweller, ‘We have been occupying this land before the War of Liberation and have never experienced such phenomena as the recent landslides.’ Most of these people migrated from Barisal and Noakhali because they lost their lands due to erosion of river banks. At present there are about 150 households residing in the affected area, of which 50 were severely damaged by the sudden landslide on the 11th of June, which also caused 70 casualties.
After interviewing the affected people, we got to know that the hill is privately owned and the owner has allowed these refugees to settle beside the foothills without asking for any rent. The first generation of settlers subsequently constructed shanties and rented them to other fellow refugees. A percentage of the rent goes to the owner of the hill.
The most astonishing thing we found out, both by interviewing the affected people and from our own observation, was that the hill has never been cut by earth traders! The landslide on the 11th of June occurred naturally, but the media gave the wrong impression by stating that the disaster in that area occurred as a result of unplanned and relentless hill cutting. According to the local people there were much heavier rainfalls in the past (1991 cyclone), but there was no fatal landslide or mudslide. The local perception of the incident was that in the past years rainwater infiltrated the hills, causing the top soil to slowly loosen up. In addition they mentioned that holes were created by bullets on the other side of the hill where the Army Firing Range is situated, because of which the inner core of the hill might have been loosened, leading to the landslide. From our observation of the affected area, we found out that the local people were correct to some extent as the soil is covered by only wild herbs and shrubs which do not have deep, penetrating roots. The soil of the hill is sandy. In view of the fact that there has been no plantation of medium sized or large trees on the slopes of the hill, the sandy topsoil never had the opportunity to harden and was thus vulnerable to erosion by intense rainfall over the years.
In the case of the landslide at Garbibullah Shah’s Mazar adjoining Kusumbagh Residential Area, the same information was gathered by interviewing the local people who said that none of the adjoining hills were ever cut! They also mentioned that on the other side of the hill the Chittagong Metropolitan Police’s firing range is situated, and the innumerable bullets fired for target practice have been creating holes in the hill, thus allowing the rainwater to seep into the core of the hill, causing big chunks of soil to break up and erode over time. To some extent the locals’ statement has some logic as in both cases the firing ranges are situated beside the hills. Further geological analysis is needed to test this hypothesis.
When we visited the other areas affected by landslides, more or less the same type of scenario was observed! The significant thing observed in all the areas affected by the landslide on the 11th of June was that no incidents of hill cutting in the recent past were recorded. Rather the landslides occurred due to natural processes as there was no tree cover on the hills, causing the soil to be eroded over time by rainfall and surface water run-off. If there were plantations of trees on the slope, surface water run-off could not have loosened the top soil, and the disaster would not have happened. So plantation of trees (preferably native species) is an effective and environmentally sound solution to prevent any future occurrence of landslides in these areas.
In order to prevent further occurrence of landslides, the Department of Forest has planted seedlings of Acacia (Acacia mangium), Raintrees and Jackfruit trees, et cetera, after 6 days of the incident on the slopes where landslides had occurred. Other than that, a local NGO and the army have identified the houses that are possibly vulnerable to landslides, and have declared them to be abandoned.
In order to prevent such disasters in the future, the most important thing is to identify those areas in the city which are vulnerable to landslides and to make the people of those areas aware of the potential threat of future landslides. After visiting the other affected areas, we have identified Matir Jhorna lane under Lalkhan Bazar as the area that is most vulnerable to landslides, because a huge slum and low-cost houses have been set up on the slopes and foothills of this area. People living in these susceptible areas have to be re-located gradually to safer parts of the city. Otherwise there might be a huge number of casualties in Chittagong if earthquake or any kind of natural disaster occurs.
Recommendations for the metropolitan area
Hill cutting should be totally stopped.
Developing or levelling of undulating land should have proper peripheral land slope or retaining wall.
Setting up of slums on the sides of hills should be stopped.
Proper plantation of trees and creation of green belts on hills can prevent landslides or reduce their frequency.
No agricultural cultivation should be allowed on hills.
Quick drainage of rainwater is very essential to reduce vulnerability to landslides.
Buildings can be constructed on hills with proper drainage and sewerage systems without disturbing their natural slope.
Rules should be framed to construct houses at a safe distance from hills. The safe distance can be calculated according to slope and type of soil. The safe distance from a hill is usually equal to the height of the hill. Further distance should be added for the inertia of motion of the sliding earth.

Do you believe in ghosts? If so, have you ever seen one?

I really don't know if I believe or not but when I watch or listen ghost stories I do beleive but when I'm in the real world I don't. I think there is something out there supernatural which can't be explained by science.

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The hotels and restaurants that sprang up in the recent past on St Martin's Island, one of the ecologically critical areas (ECA) in the country, have been operating without any official approval. According to the law, building of any structure and carrying out any activity that might pollute the environment or harm the flora and fauna in an ECA are strictly prohibited. However, the unauthorized structures mushroomed on St Martin's over the years with law enforcers and government agencies turning a blind eye to the violation. Concerned about the preservation of biodiversity of the island, the present government is planning to introduce a guideline for building environment-friendly structures on the island.

A total of 33 privately owned hotels and restaurants are currently  doing business on St Martin's 3.34-square-kilometer island with only 5,000 inhabitants. Most of these businesses opened up in last  eight years -- soon after the government decided to establish a  marine park on the country's lone coral island for the conservation  of marine bio-diversity. This year, on September 29, director of Department of Environment (DoE), Chittagong Division, in a letter said the DoE had never given approval to any hotel or restaurant to operate on the island. Considering its rich natural biodiversity, the government in a gazette notification declared Saint Martin's an ecologically critical  area on April 19, 1999. As a first step to establishing a marine park there, on July 29, the government issued another gazette notification prohibiting activities destructive to the flora and fauna of the island. Extraction of coral, seashell and conch, felling of trees and building structures were declared restricted in the gazette. The government later undertook a project to conserve the biodiversity, establish a marine park and develop ecotourism facilities on the island.

After years of irregularities, absence of proper monitoring and spending a staggering Tk 13 crore, the project turned out to be a failure. As a result, growing number of tourists are polluting and damaging the natural habitats of numerous rare species on the island, the sources added. Commenting on the unauthorised structures on St Martin's, Syeda Rizwana Hossain, director of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers' Association (Bela), said according to the gazette issued by the government, construction of any hotel or restaurant within the ECA is prohibited. "It's a violation of Sections 5 and 12 of Environment Protection Act. Violators could be punished with a maximum of ten years imprisonment and additional Tk 10 lakh in fine," she added.

Thousands of tourists are thronging St Martin's Island every year for its crystal clear blue seawaters, corals, shells, conch and giant crabs. According to Saint Martin's Hotel Owners' Association sources, not less than 60,000 people visited the island last year. The objective of the government-promoted ecotourism project was to ensure an undisturbed habitat for the flora and fauna of the island. With the project unimplemented and tourists multiplying every year, tourists, the 5,000 locals and 1,000 Rohingya refugees, all are increasingly destroying the island's environment, especially the natural environment of endangered green turtles and Olive Ridley turtles to such an extent that the turtles no longer come to the island to lay their eggs. "Sea turtles, one of the major indicators of the health of sea, are not getting the suitable environment for laying eggs. Besides, the number of mother turtles is decreasing every year. It will be harmful for our sea as the turtles help keep the sea environment clean," said a government official working at forest and environment ministry.

According to a government report, most of the residential houses and all but four hotels and restaurants on the island do not use ring-slab toilets. Raw sewage and other wastes are discharged in the open environment instead.

In a recent survey conducted by Village Education Resource Center (Verc), a non-government organization, the presence of coliform bacteria, a serious contaminant when found in food or drinking water, was detected in the groundwater of St Martin's. The presence of the bacteria was detected to be ten times higher than Bangladesh standard. The same report prepared by the government listed the following as hotels doing business on the island: Seemana Periye, Pacific Resort, Hotel Obokash, Samudra Bilash (non-commercial, established by novelist Humayun Ahmed), Coral Reef, Ocean View, Srabani Bilash, Swapno Probal, Hotel Shaibal-1, Saibal-2, Bay of Bengal Guesthouse, Holiday Home, Blue Marine Resort, Prasad Paradise, Prince Heaven, Riyad Guest, Sea Heart, Island Resort and Neel Doriya. Restaurants listed in the report are Asma Hotel, Keyari Marzan, Sea Scent Comilla, Sonar Tori, Shaheena, Hotel Al Amin, Saint Martin's Tourism Park, The Royal Restora, Hazi Salam Tourist Park, Allah'r  Daan and Marine Drop.

The first commercial business on the island was founded in 1995. When asked if the business owners on the island are required to acquire any government approval or follow any guideline, president of Saint Martin's Hotel Owners' Association Shiblul Azam Koreshi said, "Nobody told us about any approval or provided any guideline for building structures in an ECA."