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Plan Plus

A journal of planning, development, urbanization & environment

Volume 1 Number 1 October 2001

Editorial Board
Editor–in-Chief
Dr. Mahmudul Hasan

Members
Professor Dr. Md. Rezaul Karim
Professor Dr. Md. Ghulam Murtaza
Ahsanul Kabir

Member Secretary
Mohsin Uddin Ahmed

Plan Plus

Editorial correspondence:
Head, Urban & Rural Planning Discipline
Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh

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Dr. Mahmudul Hasan
Ali Naqi

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ISSN 1608-7844
Key Title: Plan Plus

Published by
Urban & Rural Planning Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna.
Plan Plus
A Journal of Planning, Development, Urbanization & Environment

Volume 1 Number 1 October 2001

Urban & Rural Planning Discipline


Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh
Advisory Board of Plan Plus

1. Professor Dr. Roger Zetter


Deputy Head, School of Planning, Oxford Brooks University, Oxford, U.K.

2. Professor Dr. S. Rafi Ahmed


Head, Department of Laser Spectroscopy, Royal Military College of Science,
Swindon, U.K.

3. Professor Dr. A.T.M. Nurul Amin


Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand

4. Dr. Peter Andersen


Associate Professor, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

5. Dr. Zahir Sadeque


Social Scientist, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
Kathmundu, Nepal

6. Professor Nabeel Hamdi


Director, Centre for Emergency, Development & Planning
Oxford Brooks University, Oxford, U.K.

7. Professor Dr. Moudud Elahi


Pro-Vice Chancellor, National University, Bangladesh

8. Professor Dr. Golam Rahman


Urban & Rural Planning Discipline,
Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh

9. Professor Zafar Reza Khan


Vice Chancellor, Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh

10. Professor Dr. A.K.M. Abul Kalam


Geography & Environment Department, Jahangir Nagar University, Savar,
Dhaka, Bangladesh

11. Dr. Nazem


Associate Professor, Department of Geography & Environment
Dhaka University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Plan Plus Volume 1 No 1 2001 pp.

ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES AND CONTROL OF SUNDARBAN FOREST

Mohsin Uddin Ahmed 1 and Advocate Feroz Ahmed 2


1
Asstt. Professor, Urban & Rural Planning Discipline, Khulna University,
2
Co-ordinator, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, Khulna

Abstract

A large number of statutes are enforcing on the preservation and development of Sundarbans in
the country. But two statutes are frequently using, one is Forest Act 1927 and other is Wild Life
Preservation Order 1973. Both the statutes do not amended according to the present needs.
According to the section 33(1) of the Forest Act 1927, activities like quarries stone, burn lime or
charcoal or collects, unauthorized extraction of trees, trespasses or pastures cattle, the person
may be arrested but the section is bailable. But it should be non-bailable if the question raised to
preserve the resources of Sundarbans. Right of discharge on the perishable goods, according to
the Wild Life Preservation Order 1973, should be denied. The Mobile Court may be established
under the section 30 of the Order 1973, is not viewed actually. The bond system on the offences
should be terminated including the financial punishment prescribed through the section 36 is not
enough according to the devaluation of money. It is necessary to enforce the regulation strictly
for the preservation of Sundarbans.

Key words: Statutes & enactment, Enforcement authority, Sundarbans, Illegal activities, Wild
life.

INTRODUCTION

Sundarban, the world's largest mangrove forest is the treasure of natural wealth for Bangladesh.
The environment of Sundarban included varieties of animals and trees looks wonderfully
beautiful and acts as a pleasure for tourist attractions. Reverse impact of the environment and
some illegal activities by human, the said forest is going to be destruction. Forest Act 1927 (No.
XVI of 1927) was established in the British Colonial Period for the preservation and
development of Sundarban. It was further amended in the year 1974 and 1990. But the aim and
objective of the Act was totally failed on the protection and preservation of the forest. For the
protection of wild animals in the forest area, the government prescribed Wild Life Preservation
Order 1973 (P. O. No. 23 of 1973). Though in the present day, wild life is abolishing by the
human through different illegal process and procedures. Sometimes, employees of the Sundarban
Forest Division act as a mischief with the criminals.

SPECIES AND SITUATIONS

Once upon a time, our forefather became a settler in the Sundarban areas with the extraction of
trees and fight with the wild animals. Still the terminology called 'minced property' to the
property earned by heredity. Total area of the Sundarban in Bangladesh is calculated about 5800
sq.km. including rivers and canals. Wild species named wild buffalo, Bengal Rhinoceros,
Swamp deer have been destroyed. Royal Bengal Tiger, spotted deer, marsh crocodile is the
heritage of Sundarban. About 2 species of amphibians, 14 species of reptiles, 25 species of birds,
5 species of mammals have been destroyed from the Sundarban due to the illegal activities.
Some natural phenomenon is also the cause.
The name of Sundarban originated from the species of trees named 'Sundari'. About 334 species
of trees including vegetation, creepers and herbs are available in the forest peoples are authorized
with legal endorsement in the forest to catch fish, collect honey and Golpata, timber named
Gaoya for newsprint mill, etc. Tourists both domestic and international are also visiting the
forest. Except these, there are illegal trespassers.
Different type of serious problems is involved with the environmental degradation of Sundarban
forest. Unlawful extraction of trees, increasing salinity of water around the rivers and canals of
Sundarban, increasing habitation in the forest areas, unlawful activities of the employees are the
major problems identified by the different studies. It is tried to produce some of the illegal
activities and their causes through this study. Emphasis is given on the existing regulatory
structure of the Sundarban.

ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES

The sealine of Sundarban is about 108 km. (60 miles) once prohibited the cyclonic disaster and
tidal waters of Bay of Bengal through different species of trees, now largely absent because of
unauthorized extraction of trees. Section 33(1) of the Forest Act 1927 (No. XVI of 1927) is
prescribed some offences. Punishment of these offences is prescribed with imprisonment for a
term not more than 6 months and with fine which may extend to Taka 2000. The offences
included in this section is quarries stone, burn lime or charcoal or collects, unauthorized
extraction of trees, trespasses or pastures cattle, etc. According to the section 33(1a), any person
who fells girdles, lops, taps or burns any tree, strips off the bark or leaves or otherwise damages
any tree, he shall be punishable with imprisonment not more than 5 years or with fine which may
extend to Taka 50000, or with both. This section (section 33(1a) is considering as non-bailable.
Process of the collection of honey sometimes involved with the arrangement of fire; as a result
bees are dying. Fishermen are abolishing fish species through the catching of shrimp. Forest Act
1927 is not appropriate to control such offences. A community named 'Bawali' is living in the
Sundarban area, frequently kidnapping by the criminals and leaves them in exchange of money.
This kidnapping system is not possible to control through Penal Code, because the areas of
Sundarban and flat land like urban area is not same. The provision should be included in the
Forest Act and Forest Court will practice such offences.

Habitation is gradually invading the forestlands. Sometimes land laws are involving with the
disputes arises among the private settles and forest department. Attia Forest is seriously affecting
by this problem. The Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed (now President of Bangladesh) gave a
judgement in the year 1985 on a case of Appellate Division of Supreme Court in Bangladesh.
The case was framed on the contravention of section 3 and 4(2) of the Attia Forest Protection
Ordinance 1982 (No. XXXIII of 1982). But the judgement is also included the Forest Act 1927
(No. XVI of 1927). The judgement according to the Forest Act 1927 was that, "there are
elaborate provisions regarding the remedy of persons aggrieved by wrongful inclusion of lands
belonging to the aggrieved parties." Province of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) vs. Shamser Ali
Khan & others.1 The judgement is proving that the Forest Act solely may control the inclusion
problem over the forestland.
According to the section 6(a) of the Wild Life Preservation Order 1973, "no person shall hunt
any wild animal by means of a shotgun, drop spear, deadfall, gun traps, an explosive projectile
bomb, grenade, electrical contrivances, a baited hook or any other trap." But flesh of the deer is
available in the hats and bazars of the adjoining areas of Sundarban and it is cheap in price.
Hunting of deer brings two benefits i.e. collection of money from the sale of flesh and skin. In
every winter season of Bangladesh, people of certain group and standard makes pleasure trip in
the Sundarban through mechanized boat and hunting deer, bring them to the Dhaka also.
Regulatory control is not for them, they think.

RECOMMENDATIONS

In 6th December 1997, UNESCO is declared the Sundarbans as world heritage. It is now
considered as a part among 522 world heritages. It is now our important responsibilities to
control and protect the forest as international benefit not as a national interest. Forest Act 1927
(No. XVI of 1927) is conceived with 13 Chapters and 86 sections, which can act as an important
role on the preservation and effective control of the Sundarban.
There are some technical difficulties in the forest case; as a result the criminals get releases from
the case. As an example, the criminals has been arrested due to the cutting or dragging any tree,
but the articles were not confiscated, or those confiscated articles did not produces in the court
timely, the criminals should get benefit and release from the case. Because it is not possible to
bring 5 tons timber or perishable goods like dead deer or tiger in the court building after one year
as the contemporary regulation is prescribed. Except these, the information should be included in
the forest case that the place of occurrence where the offences have been committed, general
eyewitness except forest employee or worker. In the remote and densely areas of Sundarban,
eyewitness is not available when the offence is occurred. In absence of this two information,
benefit of the case may be resulted in favor of the criminal, and it is happening. These regulatory
gaps should be removed during the prosecution period.

At first, forest cases were practiced in the court by the police inspector. Recently, government
has been appointed a government lawyer for the conduct of forest cases in favor of the
government. Under the section 22 of the Forest (amendment) Act 1989, an Officer of the
Directorate of Forest has been prescribed to conduct the forest cases including maintenance of
register, frame cases in appropriate time, frame revision case to the higher court for the
cancellation of bail and produce plaintiff and witnesses in the court. It should be conceived that,
this Officer is the opponent person of the learned lawyer appointed by the criminal, so he should
be fittest with available training and educational qualification on the subject.

Through the permission sanctioned by the authority on the catching of fish, collection of honey
and Golpata, dishonest people damages the trees and animals of the Sundarban. This is the only
way to entrance legally in the forest area and performs illegal activities. So it should be
necessary to examine the related information about the person before the approval given by the
authority. After sanctioning the permission frequent inspection through an inspection team is
necessary. It is too sad that some of the dishonest officers of the forest office serve falls
document on the approval to protect the criminals. With the help of such document the criminals
get relief from the forest case. This should be controlled through the re-arrangement of top level
administration and responsibilities of the forest office.
A regulatory intervention should be found on the practice of court cases. In the year of 1979, a
court case was framed on the contravention of section 45 of the Forest Act 1927 (No. XVI of
1927). The judgement was that, "in view of the provision of section 45 of the Forest Act 1927 it
is quite clear that the drifted timber coming through the river waters from India became the
property of the Government of Bangladesh and had vested with its Forest Department"2
M.A.Khaleque vs. Government of Bangladesh and others. The case also involved with the
section 19 of the Customs Act 1969 (No. IV of 1969). Such type of intervention may be found
among the Bangladesh Wild Life Preservation Order 1973, Cruelty to Animals Act 1920, Wild
Birds and Animals Protection Act 1912 and Cattle-Trespass Act 1871. Regulatory intervention
always brings benefit to the criminals. It should be controlled through the appropriate regulation
included in the Forest Act.

Under section 21(1a) of the Wild Life Preservation Order 1973 (P. O. No. 23 of 1973), it is
clearly stated that, "it shall not be an offence if, any person kill any wild animal by any means in
defence of his own life or that of any other person." During the court case practices in the court,
the convicted person just proves that his life was danger by the said animal (it may be Royal
Bengal Tiger) and he defence him to kill that animal. There is another gap of this regulation that,
flesh of the animals are perishable goods, it is not possible to produce a dead animal to the court
after atleast one month. But for the sake of court case, seized goods should be produced in front
of the court. Again, under section 20 of the said Order, the forest officer may sell seized
perishable goods, as a result court case always stands in favor of the criminals due to the absence
of evidence. Through the chemical transformation part of seized perishable goods may be
preserved until final decision given by the court.

Poor punishment system is involved with the hunting and killing of wild animals, one or two
year's imprisonment only. There is a provision to establish Mobile Court according to the section
30 of the Wild Life Preservation Order 1973 (P. O. No. 23 of 1973), but such court is not present
actually. There is no any alternative of Mobile Court, which effectively can solve the problems
regarding hunting and killing of the wild animals. Number of Mobile Courts headed by the 1st
Class Magistrate may be established for different ranges of the Sundarbans. It is also provisioned
in the section 34 of the Order that, "the offences under this Order shall be trield by a Magistrate
of the First Class."

According to the section 32 of the Wild Life Preservation Order 1973 (P. O. No. 23 of 1973),
any officer not below the rank of Forest Ranger or Wild Life Supervisor or equivalent rank who
has arrested any person may release such person on executing a bond. This process should be
removed; the Magistrate of the Forest Court must practice release system. The provision of
release is also prescribed in the section 36 of the Wild Life Preservation Order 1973 that, the
person who committed an offence may released with the paid of compensation to the forest
officer. This system should not be appreciated. According to the section 45 of the Order, it is
prescribed that, in the interest of scientific or any public purpose, allow killing any wild animal.
This process should be stopped through the change of regulatory structures.

CONCLUSION

It is necessary to uphold consciousness among the people and users about the preservation of
Sundarban. Primarily, consciousness should be preserved by the employees of Forest
Department on the performance of their activities. Secondly, consciousness should be produced
by the other high officials among the government employees who brings Sundari timber from
Sundarban to Dhaka for residential decoration only. This is a system which is practicing through
long before that, when any high official including army, transferred from Khulna to Dhaka,
brings (which may be gifted) a large number of Sundari timber including furniture also. The
costly Sundari timber is cheaper for themselves not for the general masses. The people who is
involved with the illegal extraction of trees is not the user, they could not findout the regulatory
gaps, they only performing activities for powered people who is the beneficiaries of all
illegalities. The beneficiaries group is always behind the working people, so the regulation
convicts them not the beneficiaries group. Consciousness on the national/inter national interest
should uphold by the beneficiaries group.

Again, the powered people and beneficiaries group (including employees) is fully responsible for
all the illegal activities of Sundarban. Alone Forest Act and other contemporary statutes should
not bring any benefit on their illegal activities. To control these situations, Penal Code may be
referred and applied by the Court when charge will be framed. At the sametime, sections and
sub-sections of the related statutes involved with the penalties should be stricter. All bailable
sections may be termed as non-bailable. The cases involved with non-bailable section should be
resulted in a certain time frame and it should be prescribed in the statute. In the country, for the
interest of some special cases Special Tribunals are establishing. This system may be imposed
including special regulations on the forest cases also.

Notes
1 40 DLR, 1988, P. 202.
2 32 DLR, 1980, P. 243.

References

Government of India,1927, Law Department, Forest Act, 1927 (Act No. XVI of 1927),
Gazette of India, 21st September 1927.
Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, 1973, Ministry of Law and
Justice, Bangladesh Wild Life (Preservation) Order, 1973 (P. O. No. 23 of 1973),
Bangladesh Gazette, Extraordinary, Dhaka, 28th March 1973.
Government of Bangladesh, High Court Division, The Dhaka Law Reports, Vol. 32,
January - December 1980.
Government of Bangladesh, High Court Division, The Dhaka Law Reports, Vol. 40,
January - December 1988.
Plan Plus Volume 1 No 1 2001 pp. 102-127

LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN BANGLADESH WITH SPECIAL


REFERENCE TO
KHULNA CITY

Mohsin Uddin Ahmed


Assistant Professor, Urban and Rural Planning Discipline
Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh

Abstract

As a poor-planning phenomenon of Bangladesh, existing infrastructural regulations are also


poor. The regulations could not be supported with modern urban development, because, some of
the regulations pronounced and framed at least 50 to 100 years before. Some amendment of
those regulations was also stated later on, but they were not solely consistent with modern
dynamic societies. Enforcement authorities and law makers are framing the rules as and when
required for the execution of statutes prescribed on them, but, the old main stream could not be
changed by the said amendment. Therefore, contradiction, legal gaps and communication gaps
have been common among authorities while undertaking development work. Regulations are the
key denominator for planned urban and rural development, at the sametime creation of living
environment for inhabitants. In the field of infrastructural planning, development and
management a large number of minor acts and their enforcement exist in Bangladesh. But,
decaying infrastructural facilities are establishing all over Bangladesh year after year. The
financial involvement is not the major cause of this situation; policies, management and planning
regulations are more pertinent.

Keywords: Infrastructure, Enforcement authority, Statutes & enactments, Regulatory problems,


Urban & rural planning.

INTRODUCTION

The establishment of regulations always depends on the necessity of the society. The necessity
judged by the Government and regulations on the necessities prepared by a Law Commission.
These regulations are sent to the Parliament (when Parliament in a full session) as “bill”. For
clear understanding we can see a bill confirmed by the parliament that is, The East Pakistan Fire
Services Ordinance 1959 was last amended in 1963. Experience gained from the application of
the law during these years it has been found that some further amendments in the law are
necessary with a view to: 1) Removing some lacuna or omission; 2) Making some necessary
consequential changes; 3) Dealing with cases of offences effectively; and 4) Providing for
certain new matters to meet the changed circumstances.
The above-mentioned bill provides for the – 1) Payment of license fee by the party while his case
is under consideration; 2) Recovery of license fee under P. D. R. Act; 3) Payment of fees for
issue of duplicate license; 4) Maintenance of fire buckets by the owners as a preventive measure;
5) Penalty for not taking or renewing license; 6) Penalty for not keeping fire buckets under
section 16A; and 7) Delegation of powers by the Deputy Commissioner and the Director.1
Once the regulations framed, it may be changed later depending on the values, morals and
betterment of the society. Regulations considered as the safeguard of the development activities
prepared by the government. Planning, further development, maintenance and tax collection
activities performing by the public authority through an appropriate and prescribed Act or
Ordinance, which is called legal endorsement. Every public authority established and composed
with an Ordinance or Act, which is broadly termed as Minor Acts. Available Minor Acts on
development activities are prevailing in Bangladesh. Though, a poor development trend and
enforcement procedure is firmly co-related with all the development activities.
Regulations are the key denominator for planned urban and rural activities, at the sametime
creation of living environment for inhabitants. In the field of infrastructural planning,
development and management a large number of minor acts and their enforcement exist in
Bangladesh. But, decaying infrastructural facilities are establishing all over Bangladesh year
after year. The financial involvement is not the major cause of this situation; policies,
management and planning regulations are more pertinent.

Generally an urban area consists of six types of infrastructural activities, namely, Electricity,
Water supply and Sewerage, Post office, Telecommunication, Fire service and Transportation.
For this study all infrastructural activities, their enforcement authorities and regulations have
been considered except transportation infrastructures because this sector is wide enough than the
others and need separate study. The five types of infrastructural facilities in an urban area may be
classified according to their enforcement authorities and the prescribed regulations are as
follows:

Type of
infrastructure Enforcement authorities
Electricity 1. Power Development 2. Dhaka Electricity
Board Distribution Authority
Water supply 1. Water supply & 2. City 3.
and Sewerage Authority Corporation Pourashava
Sewerage 4. Public Health 5. Municipality
Engineering Dept.
Post office 1. Post Office
Telecommuni 1. Telegraph and Telephone Board
cation
Fire service 1. Fire Service 2. Civil 3.
Defence Municipality
4. Pourashava 5. City 6. Thana
Corporation Parishad

Among the infrastructural activities, post and telecommunication services provided by single
authority i.e. Post Office and T & T in all over the country. All other facilities are changed
according to the type of urban area and rural area. Except Dhaka and Chittagong cities,
involvement of local government is prominent with the development of all the infrastructural
facilities except post and telecommunication. City Corporation, Pourashava and Municipality are
performing same responsibilities on the infrastructural development according to the same
statute prescribed on them.

OBJECTIVE AND SOURCES OF DATA

As a poor-planning phenomenon of Bangladesh, existing infrastructural regulations are also


poor. The regulations could not be supported with modern urban development, because, some of
them pronounced and framed atleast 50 to 100 years before. Some amendment was also stated
later on, but they were not solely consistent with modern dynamic societies.
The study aims to state the existing infrastructural regulations involving for the establishment,
maintenance and operation, use and tax collection in an urban centre i.e. Khulna. Also it aims to
identify the enforcement procedures maintaining by the authority with the help of the prescribed
regulations. The major objective of this study is to find out the causes for backwardness and poor
development of the existing infrastructural activities in the country and to furnish some
guidelines to alleviate the problems.
The study is an analysis of the secondary information based on published materials. The
theoretical information has sometimes been co-related with practical problems based on
experiences. An interview was followed with some of the employees of different authorities and
some of the users of the infrastructural facilities. Emphasis was given on generality rather than
specialization. Executional drawbacks, illogical regulatory arrangements are the key concept of
this study. Executional drawbacks included inefficiency and development constraints. The study
has tried to prove that all drawbacks and constraints are co-related with the contemporary
regulations of the country. Regulations, which are directly related with the physical development
of infrastructures, considered as the prime factor of this study.

STATUTES AND ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES


Enforcement authorities and law makers are framing the rules as and when required for the
execution of statutes prescribed on them, but, the old main stream could not be changed by the
said amendment. Therefore, contradiction, legal gaps and communication gaps have been
common among authorities while undertaking development work.

In view of the objective, the study is considered as an analytical review of the existing
infrastructural regulations of Bangladesh. On the basis of this study further analysis may be
undertaken. A large number of Acts and Ordinances are related with the infrastructural
development and planning of Bangladesh. Among them, 7 on electricity, 9 on water supply, 11
on fire service, 4 on telegraph and telephone and single on postal service. Several amendments of
the statutes have been prepared throughout the years but the main stream of the statutes including
functions and responsibilities of the authorities are same as the beginning of promulgation of
statutes. The statutes (Acts and Ordinances) involved with the infrastructural activities of
Bangladesh and their enforcement authorities are as follows:

Table-1: Statutes and enforcement authorities on infrastructural activities


Name of the Minor Acts Enforcement authorities
Electricity
Water and Power Development Authority Water and Power Development
Ordinance, 1958 Board
Water and Power Development Boards Water and Power Development
Order, 1972 Board
Electricity Act, 1910 Power Development Board and
Dhaka Electricity Distribution
Authority
Electricity Duty Act, 1935 Power Development Board and
Dhaka Electricity Distribution
Authority
Dhaka Electricity Distribution Authority Dhaka Electricity Distribution
Ordinance,1990 Authority
Electricity Control Ordinance, 1965 Power Development Board
Water and Power Development Authority Water and Power Development
Rules, 1965 Authority
Water supply
Water Supply and Sewerage Authority Water Supply and Sewerage
Ordinance, 1963 Authority
Water Supply and Sewerage Authority Water Supply and Sewerage
Ordinance, 1996 Authority
Dhaka City Corporation Ordinance,1983 Dhaka City Corporation
Chittagong City Corporation Ordinance, Chittagong City Corporation
1982
Rajshahi City Corporation Ordinance, 1987 Rajshahi City Corporation
Khulna City Corporation Ordinance,1991 Khulna City Corporation
Municipal Administration Ordinance, 1960 Municipality
Pourashava Ordinance, 1977 Pourashava
Public Health (Emergency Provisions) Public Health Engineering
Ordinance, 1984 Department
Postal service
Post Office Act, 1898 Post Office
Fire Service
East Pakistan Fire Service Ordinance, 1959 Fire Service
Pourashava Ordinance, 1977 Pourashava
Municipal Administration Ordinance, 1960 Municipality
Dhaka City Corporation Ordinance, 1983 Dhaka City Corporation
Chittagong City Corporation Ordinance, Chittagong City Corporation
1982
Rajshahi City Corporation Ordinance, 1987 Rajshahi City Corporation
Khulna City Corporation Ordinance,1991 Khulna City Corporation
Civil Defence Act, 1952 Civil Defence
Licensed Warehouse and Fire Brigade Act, District Magistrate
1893
East Pakistan Public Safety Ordinance, 1958 District Commissioner
East Bengal Fire Services (Special Powers) District Commissioner
Act, 1951
Telegraph and Telephone
Telegraph Act, 1885 Telegraph and Telephone
Board
Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933 Telegraph and Telephone
Board
Telegraph and Telephone Board Ordinance, Telegraph and Telephone
1975 Board
Bangladesh Telegraph & Telephone Board Telegraph and Telephone
Ordinance,1979 Board

According to the Table-1, statute on electricity generation is prescribed to the Power


Development Board through Water and Power Development Boards Order 1972, electricity
distribution is prescribed to the Dhaka Electricity Distribution Authority for Dhaka City and
Power Development Board for other urban areas in the country. In this field, name of most
usable statute is Electricity Act 1910. Control on the use of electricity is mostly followed through
the Electricity Act 1910.
In case of watersupply, differences may be viewed between the Dhaka City and other urban areas
in the country. Water Supply and Sewerage Authority for Dhaka City and local governments
named City Corporation, Pourashava, Municipality and Public Health Engineering Department
for other urban areas are performing the role on watersupply through Water Supply and
Sewerage Authority Ordinance 1996, City Corporation Ordinances, Pourashava Ordinance 1977,
Municipal Administration Ordinance 1960 and Public Health (Emergency Provisions) Ordinance
1984 respectively.
Postal services are only followed by the Post Offices through Post Office Act 1898. Different
authorities named Fire Service, City Corporation, Pourashava, Municipality, Civil Defence,
District Magistrate and District Commissioner are responsible for fire service facilities in the
urban areas according to the specified statutes as prescribed in the Table-1. But, Fire Service
authority according to the East Pakistan Fire Service Ordinance 1959 is mostly responsible for
fire service distribution in the country.
Single authority named Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board is responsible for telegraph
and telephone services in the country. About 4 statutes are following by the Board but,
Bangladesh Telegraph & Telephone Board Ordinance 1979 and Wireless Telegraphy Act 1933
are using frequently for the administration and control of telegraph and telephone services
respectively.

ROLE OF INFRASTRUCTURAL REGULATIONS

The 13 types of public authorities are enforcing the five types of infrastructural facilities in urban
Bangladesh. These authorities are enforcing their prescribed rules on planning, establishment,
maintenance and development of the facilities. Establishment of the authorities, their functions,
tax collection procedures, budgetary allocation and planning necessities (not regulations and
procedures) has been stated in individual Ordinance. The role played by the authorities within
their legal jurisdiction is basically based on four heads i.e. permission for the users tax collection,
in-house administration and budget estimation.

Permission for the users: The process and procedure practices by the authorities for the
infrastructure users (except fire service) are a by-law prepared by the authority. For the effective
execution of the prescribed regulations to the authority by the government the authority may
change this process and procedure from time to time. The permission prescribed to the authority
for the preparation of by-laws in the Ordinance headed “power to make rules”. In section 23 of
the Dhaka Electricity Distribution Authority Act 1990 it is stated that the authority can make any
rule which will not be consistent with the said Act with the prior approval by the government and
Gazette notification. According to the section 75 of the Post Office Act 1898, the [Central
Government] may, by notification in the [official Gazette] authorize, either absolutely of subject
to conditions, the Director General to exercise any of the powers conferred upon the [Central
Government] by this Act, other than a power to make rules. Again in the section 17 of the
Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board Ordinance 1979 it is clearly stated that (1) The
Board may, with the prior approval of the Government, make regulations to provide for all
matters for which provision is necessary or expedient for the purpose of giving effect to the
provisions of this Ordinance. (2) All regulations made under this section shall be published in the
official Gazette and shall come into force on such publication.
From the above discussion it is clear that the process and procedures of the execution of
regulations firmly depends on the authority. The major task of the authority is to grant license or
authorize permission to the people for the use of infrastructures. The people should apply in a
prescribed form, or a prescribed process to the authority with necessary documents, and the
authority may authorize to use the infrastructures according to the section 4 2 of the Telegraphs
Act 1885, section 8 of the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board Ordinance 1979, section
14 of the East Pakistan Water Supply and Sewerage Authority Ordinance 1963, section 25 3 of
the East Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority Ordinance 1958, section 10 of the
East Pakistan Fire Services Ordinance 1959, section 3 of Electricity Act 1910.

Tax / revenue collection: This is the major function of the urban authorities. Tax collection
procedures of different authorities are different. This difference also varies according to the
regulations prescribed on them. But, the regulations on tax collection depend on three
dimensions i.e. process of collection, functions of the authority and fund generation of the
authority. Process of tax collection depends on some by-laws. Only section 204 of the East
Pakistan Fire Services Ordinance 1959 is different than the other Ordinances. Regulation on
taxation has been emphasized separately in this Ordinance.
Tax collection is a function of all urban authorities. The specific regulation on tax collection
stated in the section 35 of the Electricity Act 1910, section 4 of the Dhaka Electricity Distribution
Authority Act 1990, section 7, 8 and 16 of the Post Office Act 1898, section 14 of the East
Pakistan Water Supply and Sewerage Authority Ordinance 1963, section 4 to 11 of the
Telegraph Act 1885, section 6 of the Telegraph and Telephone Board Ordinance 1975, section 8
of the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board Ordinance 1979 and section 8 of the East
Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority Ordinance 1958.

In-house administration: The in-house administration includes constitution and composition of


the authority, management and operation, appointment of officers and other employees,
remuneration and conditions of service, removal of Chairman and Members, and meetings of the
authority. Regulations among all the above fields’ management and operation are directly co-
related with the infrastructural activities. Management is the process confirmed by the by-laws
and operation is the function of enforcing according to the prescribed regulations.
According to the prescribed regulations an urban authority is responsible for management and
operational activities. Every authority, one for the internal administration and other for external
performs two types of managerial activities. For regulations framed only on internal
administrative process and in case of external administration it is clearly stated that the authority
will frame the regulations as and when necessary. In section 5 of the Bangladesh Telegraph and
Telephone Board Ordinance 1979, it is stated that (1) the general control and supervision of the
affairs of the telegraphs and telephones in Bangladesh shall vest in the Board which may
exercise all such powers and do all acts and things as may be necessary for the efficient
management, operation and development of the telegraphs and telephones. (2) The Board shall,
in the discharge of its functions, act on commercial considerations with due regard to the public
interest and shall be guided on the questions of policy by such general and special instructions as
may, from time to time, be given by the Government. The employees who are directly involved
with the external administration are the mid-level management body. So, when any dispute arises
among the authority and beneficiaries the top-level management involves themselves without
any knowledge about the matters.

Budget estimation: There is no any clear regulation on budget estimation of the authority. Only
it is stated that “the Board shall, by such date in each year as may be directed by the
Government, prepare the capital and revenue budgets of the Board and submit to the
Government along with necessary statements and clarifications for further processing of the
budget”.6 Budget means the annual budget on which the planning and development of the
organisation depends. The proforma of the budget follows a given guideline which is divided
into three parts i.e. tax collected in the year, expenditure in the same year and demand for next
year. Section 13 of the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board Ordinance 19757, is the
appropriate example of this guideline. In some Ordinances, on some authorities, the regulation
on budget estimation has not been framed. The East Pakistan Fire Services Ordinance 1959,
Telegraph Act 1885, Post Office Act 1898 and Electricity Act 1910 do not state any regulation
on budget estimation.
Also, the East Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority Ordinance 1958, is in the
above group but, there are some guidelines in the regulations on fund generation process i.e. the
water and power development authority fund shall consist of- (a) grants made by the
Government; (b) loans obtained from the Government; (c) grants made by local authorities; (d)
sale – proceeds of bonds issued under the Authority of the Provincial Government; (e) loans
obtained by the Authority with the special or general sanction of the Government; (f) foreign aid
and loans obtained, with the sanction of, and on such terms and conditions as may be approved
by the Provincial Government; (g) improvement or betterment levy, water rate, sale – proceeds
of electricity and toll as may be prescribed by the Government; and (h) all other sums received
by the Authority.
The role played by the infrastructural regulations includes three dimensions i.e. (1) internal
administration, management and financial activities; (2) tax / revenue collection; and (3)
planning, development and enforcement of the regulations. Role may be called the functions of
the Authority through the prescribed rules and regulations. All the functions played by the
authority may not be supported by the prescribed regulations. In all the Ordinances, it is clearly
stated that the Authority will be responsible for his activities to the Government, but the
employees of the Authorities are considered as a part of the Government. In this case what will
be the remedies in case of disputes arising due to the functions of the authority? So, court case is
the only way to solve this problem, and the case always framed between the people and the
government (i.e. the authority). Development of infrastructures is fundamentally governed by
some regulations. After the preparation of any infrastructure plan, the government through
Gazette Notification with the approval supports it. The process of approval is also prescribed as a
regulation in the authorised Ordinances. Role of infrastructural planning does not deliver the
better efficiency of the services but perceive the public support about the development of
infrastructural facilities. Financial approval of the government also depends on such public
support. In Bangladesh, most of the public authorities related with the infrastructural
development depend on the Annual Development Budget (ADB) allocated by the government.
Role of the authorities on the planning and development of infrastructure sometime is governed
by the political decision-makers.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE KHULNA CITY

The Khulna City comprises with an area of 45.65 sq. km. and with the population of 15 million.
In the year 1884 Khulna became a Pourashava with the area of 11.89 sq. km. The City
surrounded with the rivers named the Rupsha and the Bhairab. The Study Area situated on the
southwestern part of Bangladesh. Among six divisions of Bangladesh, Khulna acting as a
Divisional Headquarter with all the public authorities related with the administration and
development activities. Sometimes the authorities are performing the same role on a particular
function, as an example drinking water supply for Khulna City performing by the Khulna City
Corporation and Public Health and Engineering Department. Different infrastructural
development and facilities in the Khulna City perform by the different authorities. Activities
performed by the authorities presented as the following subjective discussions.

Water supply and sanitation: According to the regulations, “water works,” means all facilities
for collection, purification, pumping, storing and distribution of water to the public and
industries.8 “Sewerage work” means all sewerage facilities for collecting, pumping, treating, and
disposing of sanitary sewage and industrial wastes.9 “Garbage and trash” means all
accumulations of inorganic and organic solid refuse which result from urban housing,
specifically solid wastes from preparation, cooking and dispensing of food, and fresh handling,
storage and sale of produce.10 There are two divisions in Khulna City Corporation named “water
supply division” performing activities on water supply and for sanitation facilities “public health
division”. The water supply division contains 165 employees. Among them, 28 persons are
official and 147 person’s field level workers.
Total demand of the supply water of the 15 million inhabitants of Khulna City is 2.5 million
gallons but KCC is supplying about 1.25 million gallons. The water supply activities performed
through 1 treatment plant, 715 deep tubewells (hand drive), 2250 shallow tubewells, 490 public
taps, 182 km. pipeline and 39 deep tubewells (machine drive). An additional of 0.9 million
gallon of water supplied by the people own sources. During the year 1991 to 1995, 512 deep
tubewells and 790 shallow tubewells were established in the KCC area under the revenue budget
and Annual Development Program. In the same period KCC also supplied 67 deep tubewells and
647 shallow tubewells in suburb areas under the Water Supply and Sanitation Project financed
by the UNICEF. Moreover, a project named Municipal Services Project financed by World Bank
is going on the supply of drinking water in the KCC areas. Table-2 is presenting the water supply
activities performed by the water supply division of Khulna City Corporation (KCC) in different
years.

Table-2: Activities performed by the water supply division of K.C.C in 1991 to 1995
Year ADP Revenue budget UNICE Establish Establish
F ment ment
Establis Re- Establis Establis of of mother
hed establis hed hed pipeline tubewell
hed (in km.)
D ST D D ST D ST
T T ST T T
1991- 65 15 08 42 09 25 20 75 - -
92 0 0
1992- 50 - 09 13 07 29 22 39 - -
93 7 6
1993- 20 - 21 29 07 23 10 96 10 04
94 0 1
1994- 15 36 09 191 09 15 15 80 20 06
95 0 5 0
Total 46 51 47 275 32 92 67 64 30 10
5 5 8 7
Source: Annual Report, 1991-98, Khulna City Corporation, Khulna.
N.B. DT= Deep Tubewell and ST= Shallow Tubewell

The public health division is responsible for sanitation, spraying for mosquito, birth and death
registration, maintenance of slaughterhouse and E.P.I programs for health of mother and
children. About 352 persons are rendering services for spraying of mosquito deterrents in the
city. Daily collection of wastes from drains and roads is about 70 tons collected from 1200 spots,
then dumped it in Rajbondh Tracing Ground which is 7 km. away from the Khulna city. The
Larvacide is sprayed in the drains in all the Wards for destroying of mosquito breeding grounds.
Adanticide is also spraying with the use of Fogermachine.
Table-3 represents the sanitation facilities provided by the public health division of KCC. Table-
4 is showing the municipal service projects financed by IDA for Khulna City Corporation areas
only, financed by IDA. At the sametime revenue budget and development budget also generating
a major role on water supply of the KCC areas.

Table-3: Sanitation facilities established by KCC in 1993-94 (Taka in Million)


Total Amount
Works completed number sanctioned
Construction of major drains and sub- 138 No. 421.73
drains.
Construction of dustbins. 277 No. 9.99
Construction of public toilets. 07 No. 22.45
Construction of septic tank and 303 No. 42.70
soakwells.
Construction of low cost toilets. 3585 No. 125.68
Total 622.55
Source: Annual Report, 1991-98, Khulna City Corporation, Khulna.

Table-4: Development projects on sanitation facilities by KCC in 1994-95


Budget sanctioned (Million Taka)
Name of the project Revenu Developme AD ID
e nt B A
Development of water supplies 125.00 95.10
system.
Development of drainage and 7.57
sanitation system.
Municipal service projects. 20.
0
Source: Annual Report, 1991-98, Khulna City Corporation, Khulna.

The water supply system involves two systems i. e. install deep tubewell and shallow tubewell.
Sanitation facilities provided by the KCC followed the construction of drains and toilet facilities.
Improved sanitation facilities are almost absent in the Khulna City areas. Table-4 to Table-5, it is
evident that the KCC is keen to excavate and install the deep tubewell and shallow tubewell for
water supply and construction of drains and public toilets for sanitation only.

Table-5: First preference projects on sanitation facilities of KCC, 1997-98


Projects Number Value of
of projects
(in Million
Projects Taka)
Construction and re-construction of drains and 38 62.71
culverts.
Other projects: Construction of islands, footpaths, 42 86.545
and public latrines. Development of Eidgah,
dustbins, ghats. Purchase of faugher machine and
spray machine and other equipment.
Development and conservation of water supply. 15 167.145
Total 95 316.400
Source: Annual Report, 1991-98, Khulna City Corporation, Khulna.

The Department of Public Health Engineering is also responsible for water supply in urban and
rural areas of Bangladesh. Rural Water Supply Division of the Department of Public Health
Engineering in Khulna performs different activities on water supply in the KCC areas. Table-6 to
11 is present the activities performed by the Department of Public Health Engineering in the
Khulna City.

Table-6: Midterm Emergency Water Supply in Khulna City by DPHE (In Million Taka)
Activities Target as Target in 1992- Progress in July
project 93 1993 - June 1994
proforma
Actual Econo Actu Econo Actua Econom
mic al mic l ic
Experimental 20 No. 10.00 18 8.80 14 No. 6.24
tubewell No.
Productive 20 No. 160.00 09 72.00 7 No. 70.5
tubewell No. 0
Pump generate 20 No. 60.00 09 4.74 8 No. -
No.
Pump house 20 No. 25.00 09 11.25 5 No. 6.21
No.
Pipeline 40 km. 240.00 20 142.00 17.5 94.5
km. km. 6
Street tap 50 No. 2.00 10 0.40 3 No. 0.80
No.
Source: Annual Report, 1992-98, Department of Public Health and Engineering, Khulna.

The functions prescribed for the DPHE included sanitation facilities also. But, the authority does
not maintain the activities on urban sanitation. For the rural areas, the authority performs
activities on the improvement of rural sanitation through toilet facilities and the excavation and
install of shallow tubewells for water supply.

Table-7: Midterm Emergency Water Supply in Khulna City by DPHE (In Million Taka)
Activities Target as project Target in Progress in July
proforma 1992-93 1992-
June 1993
Actu Economi Actu Econo Actu Econom
al c al mic al ic
Experimental 20 10.00 08 4.00 2.00 1.
tubewell No. No. 15
Productive 20 160.00 08 64.00 - -
tubewell No. No.
Pump generate 20 60.00 - - - -
No.
Pump house 20 25.00 - - - -
No.
Pipeline 40 240.00 5.5 32.00 0.5 2.
km. km. km. 65
Street tap 50 2.00 - - - -
No.
Source: Annual Report, 1992-98, Department of Public Health and Engineering, Khulna.

It is evident from the above tables that the DPHE installed Shallow tubewells and Deep
tubewells with the construction of pump houses for the maintenance and betterment of public
health. But, the functions prescribed are wide enough than the functions actually performed by
them. The KCC with his separate division is also performing the same activities in the Khulna
City areas.

Table-8: Midterm Emergency Water Supply in Khulna City by DPHE (In Million Taka)
Activities Target as Target in Progress in July
project 1994-95 1994 -
proforma June 1995
Actual Econo Actu Econo Actual
mic al mic Econo
mic
Experimental 20 No. 10.00 4 No. 2.00 142No. 2.70
tubewell
Productive 20 No. 160.00 13 79.77 90 No. 97.56
tubewell No.
Pump generate 20 No. 60.0020 37.77 2 No. 1.73
No.
Pump house 20 No. 25.00 15 18.79 9 No. 16.30
No.
Pipeline 40 km. 240.00 22 61.87 22 km. 76.81
km.
Street tap 50 No. 2.00 47 0.80 5 No. 0.05
No.
Source: Annual Report, 1992-98, Department of Public Health and Engineering, Khulna.

The activities performed by the KCC and DPHE for water supply and sanitation facilities in the
Khulna City areas is not maintaining any planning criteria. No legal standard on population or
household for shallow tubewells / deep tubewells and toilets is being followed by the authorities.
The facts depend on the influential persons, political decision-makers and wishfulness of the
employees of the authorities. Not only the water supply and sanitation, the scenario of all type of
infrastructural facilities and development are the same. Planning criteria is almost absent for
infrastructural development. Every related authority has there own bylaws for the development
of infrastructural facilities, but lacks of planning criteria.
The DPHE performed only emergency water supply for the city dwellers through experimental
tubewell, productive tubewell, pump generation, pump house construction, pipeline
establishment and producing of street tap. For these activities the DPHE expended 88.06 million
taka in the year 1995-96 and in the same year KCC spended 220.10 million taka on the
development of water supply system in Khulna City.

Table-9: Midterm Emergency Water Supply in Khulna City by DPHE (In Million Taka)
Activities Target as Target in 1995- Progress in July
project 96 1995 –
proforma June 1996
Actu Econom Actu Econo Actu
al ic al mic al Economic
Experimental 20 10.00 - - 3No. 4.28
tubewell No.
Productive 20 160.00 3 No. 20.00 1 No. 29.86
tubewell No.
Pump generate 20 60.00 10 30.00 5 No. 12.05
No. No.
Pump house 20 25.00 7 No. 9.60 3 No. 8.44
No.
Pipeline 40 240.00 - 25.67 - 33.43
km.
Street tap 50 2.00 - - - -
No.
Source: Annual Report, 1992-98, Department of Public Health and Engineering, Khulna.

Activities of the DPHE are involved in water supply within the urban and rural areas through
sinking of hand tubewell and sanitation facilities providing low cost toilet in the rural areas only.
Generation of pump including construction of pump house, establishment of pipeline for water
supply also included in the urban areas.

Table-10: Midterm Emergency Water Supply in Khulna City by DPHE (In Million Taka)
Activities Target as Target in 1996- Progress in July
project 97 1996 –
proforma June 1997
Actu Econo Actu Econo Actual Econo
al mic al mic mic
Experimental 47 22.00 6 No. 3.27 16No. 7.27
tubewell No.
Productive 30 315.00 10 95.00 11 No. 81.6
tubewell No. No. 0
Pump generate 30 78.00 20 40.00 6 No. 42.4
No. No. 4
Pump house 30 75.00 14 35.00 12 No. 35.6
No. No. 3
Pipeline 60 300.00 20 80.71 20 No. 95.5
km. Km. 2
Street tap 10 0 2 No. - - -
No. .40
Source: Annual Report, 1992-98, Department of Public Health and Engineering, Khulna.

Table-11: Midterm Emergency Water Supply in Khulna City by DPHE (In Million Taka)
Activities Target as project Progress in July 1997
proforma to June 1998
Economi Actual Econo
Actual c mic
Experimental 47 No. 22.00 47 No. 21.74
tubewell
Productive 30 No. 315.00 30 No. 297.40
tubewell
Pump generate 30 No. 75.00 28 No. 63.94
Pump house 30 No. 78.00 27 No. 78.48
Pipeline 60 km. 300.00 60 km. 306.61
5
Transformer 3 No. 6.00 3 No. 5.90
Street tap 10 No. 0.40 8 No. 0.93
Source: Annual Report, 1992-98, Department of Public Health and Engineering, Khulna.

Post & Telecommunication: “Benjamin Franklin, who established the Postal Service at the
birth of the United States, recognized the importance of such a service. He said that, a
progressive nation requires a good communication system. His policy for the Post Office was
that, it should assist and help develop all new forms of transportation which would in turn,
provide a better mail delivery.”11 Bangladesh postal service also trying to follow these views
facilitate the better delivery services to the people. But, people are now more dependent on the
private postal services like ‘Courier Service’ and ‘DHL’ rather than public postal services. There
are many cause in this regard mainly – minimum charge, prompt delivery, written evidence, etc.
The term ‘telegraph’ means “an electric, galvanic or magnetic telegraph, and includes appliances
and apparatus for [making, transmitting or receiving] telegraphic, telephonic or other
communications by means of electricity, galvanism or magnetism.”12 ‘Telegraph line’ means “a
wire or wires used for the purpose of a telegraph, with any casing, coating, tube or pipe enclosing
the same, and any appliances and apparatus connected therewith for the purpose of fixing or
insulating the same.”13
Non-availability of information restricts real picture on these issues for the Khulna City. The
authority pointed out that generally they perform all types of postal services prescribed in their
Minor Act. But they do not preserve any record on the mail delivered by them. Some registered
and money orders record they maintaining for the calculation of their daily revenue income.
Table-12 representing that number of telegrams sends out of Khulna reducing year after year
because the involvement of private sector with fax, telephone and teleprinter services. Before
liberation (1971), there were two-telephone exchange installed in Khulna City, one in the
Dakbanglow area (CBD area of Khulna) and another in Daulatpur. Analogue system or F1
system was prevailed with those exchanges. This system existed till 1997. Digital system has
been introduced from early 1998. At present, there are four telephone exchanges in Khulna City
named Seromoni, Daulatpur Khalishpur and for CBD and its surrounding areas named Khulna.

Table-12: Number of telegrams sended out of Khulna,1965– 1997


Year Number of telegrams sended
(Approx.)
1965 - 4,00000
1975
1976 - 3,00000
1986
1987 - 2,00000
1997
Source: Annual Report,1980-98,Telegraph & Telephone Board, Khulna.

Telecommunication services are not satisfactory in the Khulna City. There are 7 telegram
machines and 2 card phones in the Khulna City areas for the population of 15 million. Tables-12
to Table-16 is present information on the telecommunication services of Khulna City.

Table-13: Telegram machine and Card Phone of the BTTB, Khulna, 1998
Name of the Total number
place Telegram Card
machine Phone
Dakbanglow 02 02
Dawlatpur 01 -
Town 01 -
khalishpur
Mongla 01 -
Bagerhat 01 -
Satkhira 01 -
Total 07 02
Source: Annual Report, 1980-98,Telegraph and Telephone Board, Khulna.

Before 1990, Morseline with sounder system (Tore-tokka) was used to transmit news from
Khulna to other parts of the country. That time Tore-tokka only used for long distance news and
short distance news transmitted through telephone. After 1990, Dialing System (Gentian system)
has developed to transmit news. At the sametime, telephone and teleprinter facilities also provide
at the office to accelerate the activities and public facilities. There are two-telegram machine
exist at Khulna Telegraph Office which are passing through news to different districts and Thana
level and also receive that from other telegraph offices of the country. For foreign news, first
send to Dhaka Office and then transmit it to abroad. Dhaka is connected with about 80 countries
to communicate information. There are 103 stations connected with Khulna Telegraph Office
within the country.

Table-14: Exchange wise telephone connection capacity in different period


Year Name of Exchange
Khalishp Dawlatp Khul Tota
Serom ur ur na l
oni
Before - - 1000 2000 3000
Liberation
1973 - 1991 1000 2000 - 4000 7000
1992 - 1996 - - - 2000 2000
Total 1000 2000 1000 80001200
0
Source: Annual Report, 1980-98,Telegraph and Telephone Board, Khulna.

Tables-15 and 16 present an increasing of extra 3000 connections after the year 1997. At the
sametime, all analogue system of telephones was transferred to digital system. All the modern
activities followed by the T&T with the by-laws. Few amendments of the prescribed statutes do
not incorporate regulations on any modern facilities.

Table-15: Digital telephone connection capacity according to exchange, Khulna


Year
Name of Exchange
Seromon Dawlatpu Khulna Tota
i Khalishp r l
ur
After 1000 4000 1000 9000 1500
1997 0
Source: Annual Report, 1980-98,Telegraph and Telephone Board, Khulna.

Table-16 presented the gradual increasement of connection cost of the telephone. Upto the year
1995 cost reflected the analogue system of telephone and from 1996 it is on digital system. All
the system imposed by the T&T through the budgetary allocation approved by the government.

Table-16: Telephone connection cost over the year in Khulna


Year Connection cost per telephone
(in Taka)
1980 - 7500
1984
1985 - 10000
1990
1991 - 16400
1995
1996 - 20300
1999
Source: Annual Report, 1980-98,Telegraph and Telephone Board, Khulna.

Electricity: In the contemporary regulations of Bangladesh, electricity discussed on three


terminology’s i.e. aerial line, electric supply-line and energy. Aerial line “means any electric
supply line which is placed above ground and in the open air”.14 Electric supply-line means “a
wire, conductor or other means used for conveying, transmitting or distributing energy together
with any casing, coating, covering, tube, pipe or insulator enclosing, surrounding or supporting
the same or any part thereof, or any apparatus connected therewith for the purpose of so
conveying, transmitting or distributing such energy.”15 Energy means “electrical energy when
generated, transmitted, supplied or used for any purpose except the transmission of a message”.16
Tables-17 and 18 present here to understand the activities performed by the Power Development
Board. Electricity distribution and revenue collection are the subject matters of these two tables.
The information is presented on the Bangladesh as a whole. The PDB of Khulna could not serve
any information on the Khulna City.

Table-17: Electrification of Thanas, Villages and Pumps in different years (In numbers)
Year Than Villag Hat / Deep, Shallow,
a e Bazar Low Lift Pump
1988- 438 2612 1326 10428
89
1989- 438 2657 1371 11031
90
1990- 438 2717 1391 12331
91
1991- 438 2767 1411 14033
92
1992- 438 2807 1431 16023
93
Source: Annual Report, 1992-93, Bangladesh Power Development Board, Dhaka.

From the year 1988 to 1993, revenue collection by the PDB increases gradually. But the overall
situation of the urban electricity was same. It was only for the outdated infrastructures including
outdated management procedures involved with the electricity.
Table-18: Gross revenue collection
Year Million % increase over
Taka preceding year
1988- 7639.850 14.397
89
1989- 9486.301 24.169
90
1990- 9172.859 -3.304
91
1991- 10484.71 14.301
92
1992- 12080.676 15.222
93
Source: Annual Report, 1992-93, Bangladesh Power Development Board, Dhaka.
Fire service: In this study, ‘fire-fighting appliances’ means “fire-engines, fire-escapes,
accoutrements, equipment, tools, implements and things whatsoever used for fire-fighting and
includes motor-cars, motor cycles, trailers and other means of transport”.17 At the sametime,
‘warehouse’ means “any building or place used whether temporarily or permanently for the
storing or pressing or keeping of jute, gunny bags, cotton, hemp, resin, shellac, varnish, bitumen,
pitch, tar, tallow, celluloid, wood (excluding furniture kept in the building or place in ordinary
use), charcoal, coal, bamboo, straw, hay, ulugrass, golpata, hogla, durma, raw rattan canes,
coconut fibre, waste paper, packing boxes, inflammable chemicals or any other article which in
the opinion of the Provincial Government is inflammable and is specified by the Provincial
Government by notification in the Official Gazette for the purpose of this clause”.18 There are
five fire service stations in Khulna City, situated in Boyra, Tutpara, Khalishpur, Daulatpur and
Rupsha. Table-19 is presenting on a fire service station of Khulna City. The functions performs
by these stations may be categorized as fire fighting, rescue, ambulance, civil defence, anti gas
service, bomb disposal service, casualties service and warehousing.

Table-19: Fire fighting facilities of Khulna Fire Service Authority


Name of the facilities Number
Snorkel (with Ladder 01
facilities)
Foam tender (for oil fire) 01
Water unit 04
Second turnout 05
Ambulance 02
Warehouse 03
Water vessel 01
Speed boat 01
Source: Fire Service and Civil Defence Authority, Nurnagar, Khulna, 1998.

PROBLEMS CONSISTENT WITH THE ISSUES

According to the infrastructural regulations the problems can be identified basically on two
broad heads i.e. regulatory problems and executional problems. Regulatory problems are related
to absence of planning regulations, lack of co-ordinative regulations, existing in-consistent
regulations in modern dynamic society and regulations on same functions prescribed for different
authorities. The classification of executional problems are involvement of different authorities in
same activities; poor know-how of the employees and people about the regulations.

Besides, the executional process and procedures of the regulations are old and corrupt leading to
delaying process of permission granted by the authority. Further, the authorities are not well
supported with available manpower and modern amenities and insufficient penalties for breach
of regulations. Locational planning and development are other problems because, the location of
an infrastructure in urban planning of view considered as prime factor for the determination of
efficiency.

Absence of planning regulations: Infrastructural planning should be guided with the


infrastructural regulations. The guideline may be in the form of some by-laws. Sound
development of infrastructures depends on sound infrastructural planning. Two types of planning
can be viewed: one is economic planning and the other is physical planning. The term physical
planning is emphasized for this study. But, regulation on infrastructural planning is totally absent
in Bangladesh. As a result, irresponsible planning by the authority on infrastructure development
can be viewed all over the country. Without the said planning regulations, different authorities
are preparing their plan and development on different dimensions and methods. Development
criteria, planning standard, development process should be regulated with a particular method.
For example – what will be the population standard, total household and total area covered by an
electric sub-station or a deep tube-well for supply of drinking water? What will be the basis of
six-metre dia of storm sewerage pipeline or one metre dia pipeline for supply of drinking water?
The answer depends on the projects and technical persons, not in the regulations.

Lack of co-ordinative regulations: Formulation of co-ordinative committee is a process of


implementation of the prescribed Ordinance. Perhaps in all the authorities there are top-level
committees framed by different members from different authorities. But the process and
procedure, involvement depends on the authority. How far the involvement will be accomplished
among Telegraph and Telephone (T & T) and City Corporation, or Water and Sewerage
Authority (WASA) and City Corporation / Roads and Highways? The answer totally depends on
the individual authority. In the absence of co-ordinative regulations authorities are not bound to
make co-relation among the authorities. So the existing co-relation is not fruitful and does not
bring any benefit for any authority.

Existing in-consistent regulations: It has been observed that most of the infrastructural
regulations basically follow the old Act or Ordinances to mitigate the emergency or problems.
For electricity, there is the practice of following the Electricity Act 1910, for water and
sewerage, following the Water and Sewerage Authority Ordinance, 1963 and for post,
telecommunication, fire service following Post Office Act 1898, Telegraphy Act 1885 and Fire
Service Ordinance 1959 respectively. So, it is clear that the existing infrastructures are guiding
through the regulations stated before 36 to 88 years. The objectives remained unchanged when
Parliament / President promulgated the Act or Ordinance, but, necessity and needs, frequency,
delivery procedure, acceptance of the authorities and modernization of the services are rapidly
changing after the year 1980. As a result, the regulations could not be followed accordingly with
the modern society. It is supposed to be inconsistent with the existing urban development and
planning.
Regulations on same functions: According to the local authorities and their prescribed
Ordinances, all the local authorities are entitled for establishment and maintenance of
infrastructure facilities such as water supply and sanitation, fire services and transport
infrastructures. So, for water supply and sanitation facilities in Municipal areas of Bangladesh,
Municipality is responsible according to the Municipal Administration Ordinance 1960 and at
the sametime Public Health Engineering Department is also responsible for the same according
to the Public Health (Emergency Provisions) Ordinance 1984. For City Corporation and
Pourashava area the procedure is the same. Fire services in the City Corporation areas City
Corporation is liable for establishment and maintenance of the services but, Civil Defence
according to the Civil Defence Act 1952 and Fire Brigade according to the East Pakistan Fire
Service Ordinance 1959 also responsible for the same. According to the section 8(3f) of the East
Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority Ordinance 1958 “the Authority shall have
power to generation, transmission, distribution of power, and the construction, maintenance and
operation of power houses and grids”. Same power was authorised before 48 years according to
the section 37(1) of the Electricity Act 1910. The said section stated that “the Electricity Board
may make rules for the whole of the [Province] or any part thereof, to regulate the generation,
transmission, supply and use of energy”. On electricity duty, two Acts and one Ordinance were
prescribed on the same regulation on two authorities. The Acts are section 2(a) of the Electricity
Act 1910, section 3 (as Schedule) of the Electricity Duty Act 1935 and Ordinance named section
11(1c) of the East Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority Ordinance 1958.

Involvement of different authorities: Involvement of different authorities in same services is


creating a haphazard development and irresponsible maintenance of the infrastructures. It also
generates more financial involvement (as a burden) of the government. Power Development
Board (PDB) and Electricity Board for urban electricity supply, Dhaka Electricity Supply
Authority (DESA) for Dhaka and Rural Electrification Board (REB) for rural electrification of
Bangladesh are involved with the electricity distribution and maintenance, revenue collection,
etc. For water supply and sanitation facilities all urban areas are involved with dual authorities,
for example, Water Supply and sewerage Authority (WASA) and City Corporation for Dhaka
city, Public Health Engineering and City Corporation for Khulna city, Public Health Engineering
and Pourashava, Municipality or Union Parishad for Pourashava, Municipality and Union
Parishad premises.
According to the section 4(a & d) of East Pakistan Fire Service Ordinance 1959 the Government
may make general and special orders for constituting or reconstituting a fire-brigade for building
or providing stations, or hiring places, for accommodating the members of the fire-brigade and
keeping its fire fighting appliances. It is the same in section 108(1) of Pourashava Ordinance
1977, section 88 of Municipal Administration Ordinance 1960, section 120 of the Dhaka City
Corporation Ordinance 1983, section 118 of the Chittagong City Corporation Ordinance 1982,
section 117 of the Khulna City Corporation Ordinance 1986 and section 119 of the Rajshahi City
Corporation Ordinance 1987. The regulations stated in the Pourashava Ordinance 1977 that “for
the prevention and extinction of fire, a Pourashava may, and if so required by the Prescribed
Authority shall, maintain a fire-brigade, consisting of such staff and such number of fire stations,
and such implements, machinery, equipment and means of communicating intelligence as may
be prescribed”. Involvement of different authorities in same function for a particular area creates
financial burden on government and question of responsibilities on development and
maintenance. On the other hand corruption by the authority may be practiced through this
process.

Poor know-how of the employees: For the better execution of the regulations the employees of
the authorities should be well known about the laws and by-laws prescribed for themselves. It is
known to all in Bangladesh that top-level management has keen sense about the regulations
authorised on them. But, in the mid-level management and supervisory management where more
people oriented participation is involved, could not preserve any knowhow (except one man who
is the Authorised Officer) about their regulations. In all development authorities there is at least
one legal adviser who is performing the responsibilities on the disputes arising on the activities
performed by the authorities.

Poor know-how of the people: A few people who are beneficiaries of the infrastructural
facilities only conceived the process of application for seeking permission for certain purpose
from the authority. Most people (except concern legal practitioners) have not any understanding
about the penalties for violation of the regulations, duties and responsibilities of the authorities.
Type of infrastructure generated different type of regulations. Electricity, water supply and
sanitation are perhaps same in context of services used by the people. Postal services are quite
different, and fire services is very much reverse than the others. But, people only try to conceive
the process and procedures for enjoying services from the authorities, which is the by-laws
produced by the authorities based on the prescribed regulations.
People are the part and parcel of the regulations and efficient execution of the regulations
depends on the better knowhow about the contemporary regulations. In Bangladesh where 80%
people are rural based and about 5% are highly literate, among this 5% few people have the
general understanding about the existing infrastructural regulations. Absence of poor knowhow
about the regulations a question always stands against the efficient execution of the regulations.
Question of corruption also related to these poor understandings.

Old regulations and corruption: Corruption of government employees is generating and


continuing due to old regulation practices by the authorities. To prevent and control the
corruption, regulations should be updated and amended according to the present necessities of
the people. Regulations on electricity first established in the year of 1910 also amended several
times later on. The regulations also prescribed in a changed form in the year of 1958, 1965, 1972
and 1990 but, objectives, subject matters and regulations itself were not different from the earlier
regulations. Major change inserted in the year 1958 and 1972 that was the name of Pakistan
instead of Sub-continent or India, Bangladesh instead of Pakistan or East Pakistan and Taka
instead of Rupee. Regulations on fire service, post office, telegraph and telephone were first
established in the year 1893, 1898 and 1885 respectively. After 58 years, from the year of
establishment, fire services prescribed responsibility for control and maintenance to the District
Commissioner. After 67 years of the first commencement of the regulations an independent fire
service authority was established. During 40 years (upto the year 1999) this authority is
maintaining their duties and responsibilities according to the regulations commenced in the year
1959. Post and telecommunication services are quite different from the fire services. Authorities
(such as post and T & T) were established at the time of commencement of the regulations that
was 100 years before on postal services and 104 years before on telecommunication services.

Delaying process of permission: Regulations are also framed only on the permission given by
the authority to the beneficiaries or users of the infrastructures. Process of permission is by-laws
prepared by the prescribed authority. In case of some authorities, after submission of the
application for approval it will take time from 15 days to one month. The existing situation is
rather different, because the authorities are not bound to sanction permission within their
jurisdictional time.

Lack of available manpower and modern amenities: These problems are not directly related
with the regulations, and regulations may not be prescribed to use the modern amenities and
increase the manpower of the authority. According to the statistics served by fire service that
from 1996 to 1998, destructive fire occur in the country were about sixteen thousand and above.
For this occurrence, loss of property calculated about 198 million 31 lakhs and 40 thousand taka.
A large number of destructive fires occurred in the year 1997 rather than other years, calculated
that the number of destructive fires are 5802 and loss of property calculated in Tk. 90,34000. In
the year 1998, total number of destructive fires was 5003 and loss of property calculated in Tk.
44,57000. In every year, about 1500 destructive fires occurred due to short-circuit from illegal
connection of electric line.19
The word availability of manpower presented here as the non-availability of population who
conceives the regulatory understandings of the Minor Acts. Generally, in an organisation there
should have a person who must have the primary understanding about the regulations prescribed
on them. In context of any regulatory problems the authority appoints legal advisers. In the
modern world, sophisticated infrastructural amenities are being used for infrastructural
development and maintenance. In some cases, Bangladesh also follows the techniques using in
modern world. But, how these amenities will be maintained and who will be responsible, what
will be the punishment in case of misuse and irresponsibility; there is no any legal safeguard
about these issues.

In-sufficient penalties: After the first commencement of the Minor Acts on infrastructures,
amendments were pronounced several times by the government. Most of these amendments were
administrative, not on the punishment for breach of the regulation. So, before 89 years when
minimum punishment for breach of the electricity regulation was fifty taka and maximum
punishment two years imprisonment which is still being followed today. Penalties in different
infrastructural facilities may be seen in Table-20.
Punishment on service users is always stated in the Minor Acts. Employees of the authorities are
not incorporated with the jurisdiction of penalties, except in some cases of postal and
telecommunication services. Through these gaps employees of the authorities involve themselves
in corruption. Maximum punishment for maliciously wasting energy or injuring works
(According to section 40 of the Electricity Act 1910) of electricity is two years imprisonment
and for illegal use of energy is five hundred taka (According to section 43 of the Electricity Act
1910). This was framed 89 years before when 40kg rice could be purchased in exchange of one
taka. Anybody who is using unauthorised telegraphs may be punished with fifty taka (section 21
of Telegraphs Act 1885). These in-sufficient penalties encourage people to breach the
regulations.

Table-20: Penalties in different infrastructural facilities


Services Year of Maximum Minimum
commencement punishment punishment
Electricity 1910 2 years Fine with
imprisonment Taka one
hundred
Water supply & 1960 2 years Fine with
sewerage imprisonment Taka one
hundred
Fire services 1951 3 months Fine with
imprisonment Taka fifty
Postal services 1898 7 years Fine with
imprisonment Taka fifty
Telecommunicati 1933 3 years Fine with
on imprisonment Taka fifty
Source: Different statutes.

RECOMMENDATIONS

In a broad sense, all legal practitioners, decision makers and elite persons will make their first
comment on the recommendations of any legal issues in Bangladesh, i.e. need of overhauling
and updating of obsolete laws and regulations, developing legal cover for important areas such as
privatization, institutionalizing consensual dispute resolution mechanism, streamlining court
administration and case management, strengthening weak institutions responsible for interpreting
and applying laws, and widening access to justice for the poor.
It is noticed here that infrastructure is not directly involved with urban planning but directly
emphasized on the urban development activities. So, it should be kept in mind that studies on
infrastructural regulation should focus more on urban development. rather than urban planning.
Regulations should be ‘rigid’ in a sense to fulfil a particular objective but also flexible for future
amendment according to the necessity of the society.

Regulatory re-arrangements: It has been observed that the existing regulations are old. So, re-
arrangement of the regulations is necessary according to the present objectives and needs of the
society. In this process the infrastructural regulations should follow a systematic process such as,
introductory issues, objectives and terminology. Establishment chapter may include
administration and budgetary allocation. Another chapter may be arranged with the regulations
on development, maintenance and delivery of service permission for the users. Penalties for
breach of regulations including police power will be presented in a separate chapter. Regulatory
re-arrangements may be possible according to the different ways, such as:
i) Through amendment: Amendment of the regulations should be encouraged
according to the functions and necessities of the societies. But, in the country
amendment is going on only in the top-level administration of the authorities.
The amendment of the regulations should be followed according to the
following ways:
ii) Consistency: A consistency should be maintained among the regulations,
functions and responsibilities of the authorities. It should be clear what peopled
might do and what will be the penalties for breach of this doings. The Minor
Acts on the authorities mainly focus on the duties and responsibilities of the
authorities, not on the people. In the Municipal, Pourashava and City
Corporation Ordinances, the authorities are responsible for collection and
dispose of the refusals from dustbins. The authority according to the Penal
Code should consider what people might do or what will be the penalties for
environment pollution through unauthorised garbage disposal. There is a gap
between these two practices.
iii) Co-ordination: To amend the regulations a co-ordination is necessary
among all the relevant authorities and their Minor Acts. The functions and
responsibilities should be enhanced through this co-ordination. For this purpose
a co-ordination cell should be formed in every authority.
iv) Removal: Unnecessary and unused regulations in the existing Minor Acts
should be erased. These unused regulations are confusing for the people and
also for the employees. For example – in the City Corporation Area
development authority is responsible for sanction of building plan, but
according to the City Corporation Ordinance, the City Corporation is also
preserving the same right.
v) Establishment of new regulations: Regulatory re-arrangement is possible
through the establishment of new regulations. The regulations should be
followed according to the demand and necessities of the societies such as the
regulations on mobile telephone, internet, etc.

Involvement of the authorities: According to the Minor Acts about nine authorities are
involved with the water supply and sewerage facilities and eleven authorities for fire services.
This involvement is producing conflicts on the execution of the regulations and functions among
the authorities. As an example, City Corporation, Pourashava and Municipality are authorized
for water supply and sanitation facilities and fire services in urban premises. At the sametime,
water supply and sewerage authority is also responsible for the same. So, a conflict on the
execution of same regulation is arising among these authorities. To remove these conflicts, single
authority with relevant branches should be prescribed.

Legal training of the employees: Legal training of the employees on the prescribed Minor Acts
and the by-laws produced by the authorities may be possible with the request of any institute
where legal affairs are being studied. Short-term training will be highly relevant in this regard. In
every six month a monitoring process by the top-level administration on the employees regarding
the prescribed regulations of the authorities may be provided.

Advertisement, workshop & seminar on the regulations: To increase consciousness of the


people about the regulatory measures advertisements through different mass media, workshops
and seminars in different places in different times by the authorities are necessary.
Advertisements may include the responsibilities performed by the people and the penalties on the
breach of regulations. Open discussions on the responsibilities performed by the authorities may
also be incorporated.

Regulations on the process of permission: Process of permission on legal use of infrastructures


is performed by by-laws produced by the authorities with the help of the government. The
Gazette notifies these by-laws. This is an executional drawback of the regulations. To remove
this drawback by-laws regarding the permission set forth by the authorities should be
incorporated with the Minor Acts and presented with the Gazette Notification.

Use of modern amenities: Use of modern amenities should be used according to the by-laws set
forth by the authorities. Misuse or irresponsible handling of the amenities by the employees
should be punished according to the by-laws and that will be in published form. For every type
of infrastructural development and maintenance, process of the use of amenities varies.
Regulations on postal articles and their use are different than others. For telephone, electricity
and water supply activities, the process of use of the amenities are the same but fire service is
alone in a group. So, regulations on the modern amenities should be prescribed according to
these types. Regulations will be followed in two dimensions: one is for the users and other for
maintenance by the authorities.
Re-adjustment of penalties: Penalties on the breach of infrastructural regulations were
prescribed long ago. It should be re-adjusted according to the devaluation of money and
devaluation of social norm. Human tendency on breach of regulations is always controlled
through the imposed of penalties. Efficient execution of the regulations also depends on the
acceptance of the regulations by the people.

CONCLUSION

This study is concerned with the fundamental problems in the contemporary regulation, which is
an obstacle on efficient execution of the regulations on infrastructural development, maintenance
and planning in an urban set-up. These regulatory obstacles are also the primary cause for poor
infrastructural development in Bangladesh. Financial establishment and healthy budgetary
allocation have been pointed as secondary problems.
In Bangladesh, urban infrastructures are relatively developed than rural infrastructures. Water
supply and sewerage facilities in the rural areas are provided by the Public Health Engineering
Department according to the Public Health (Emergency Provisions) Ordinance 1984 through the
sinking of tube-well and improved system of latrine. Union Parishad is also responsible for the
same according to the Local Government Ordinance 1976. The Rural Electricity Board
according to the Rural Electricity Board Ordinance 1977, is providing electricity. Fire services
are provided by the Union Parishad and postal and telecommunication services are provided by
the post and telecommunication authorities on the Minor Acts prescribed for urban areas. But, in
fact, these three types of infrastructural facilities are proving that the authorities and government
are not as keener to facilitate the rural areas through infrastructural development as urban areas.
The lawmakers and Ministry of Law perform full responsibilities to establish new laws and
changes and evaluate the existing laws. They are performing responsibilities on the eyes of
politics not according to the demand of the societies. This process is continuing through year
after year, as a result, infrastructural conditions are not improved as expected. Therefore it is
necessary to re-arrange or amend the existing regulations on infrastructures of Bangladesh and
the recommended guidelines of this study may be considered for this.

Notes
1
The Dhaka Gazette, Extraordinary, 28th December 1968, Part IVA, P.1397.
2
Within [Pakistan], the [Central Government] shall have the exclusive privilege of establishing,
maintaining and working telegraphs: Provided that the [Central Government] may grant a
license, on such conditions and in consideration of such payments as [it] thinks fit, the
establishment, maintenance and working –
3
(1) The authority will ordinarily sell power and water in bulk. (2) The rates at which the
Authority shall sell power and water shall be so fixed as to provide for meeting the operating
costs, interest charges, and depreciation of assets, the redemption at due time of loans other
than those covered by depreciation, the payment of any taxes and a reasonable return on
investment.
4
In addition to the fees payable for licenses of warehouse and workshop under section 8, the
Provincial Government may, after consulting the municipality or the Union Board concerned,
levy on all holdings other than warehouses and workshops a general rate of one per centum on
the annual valuation of such holding: Provided that no such general rate shall be levied on
holding, the annual value of which does not exceed Rs. 200.
5
The [Provincial Government] may, on application made in the prescribed form and on payment
of the prescribed fee (if any), grant to any person a license to supply energy in any specified
area, and also to lay down or place electric supply-lines for the conveyance and transmission of
energy –
6
Section 13, Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board Ordinance 1979 (Ordinance No. XII of
1979).
7
The Board shall, by such date in each year as may be prescribed, submit to the government for
approval a budget in the prescribed form for each financial year showing the estimated receipts
and expenditure and the sums which are likely to be required from the Government during that
financial year.
8
East Pakistan Water Supply and Sewerage Authority Ordinance, 1963, P.3.
9
Ibid.
10
Ibid.
11
Robert, M. Cane and Vose, D. Allan (1975), Air Transportation, P. 25.
12
Section 2, Telegraph Act, 1885
13
Ibid.
14
Electricity Act 1910 (Act No. IX of 1910), P.2.
15
Ibid, P.2.
16
Ibid, P.2.
17
East Pakistan Fire Service Ordinance 1959, P. 2.
18
Ibid.
19
The Daily Janakantha, 16th March 1999, Dhaka.

References

Kane, Robert M. and Vose, Allan D. , 1975, Air Transportation, Kendall/Hunt


Publishing Company, Iowa, USA.
Government of East Pakistan, 1959, Law Division, East Pakistan Fire Services
Ordinance, 1959 (Ordinance No. XVII of 1959), Dhaka Gazette, Extraordinary,
Dhaka.
Government of East Pakistan, 1960, Law Division, Municipal Administration
Ordinance, 1960 (Ordinance No. X of 1960), Dhaka Gazette, Extraordinary,
Dhaka.
Government of India, 1910, Law Department, Electricity Act, 1910 (Act No. IX of
1910), Gazette of India.
Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, 1977, Ministry of Law and
Justice, Rural Electrification Board Ordinance, 1977 (Ordinance No. LI of 1977),
Bangladesh Gazette, Extraordinary, Dhaka.
Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, 1996, Ministry of Law and
Parliamentary Affairs, Water Supply and Sewerage Authority Act, 1996 (Act
No.VI of 1996), Bangladesh Gazette, Extraordinary, Dhaka.
Government of India, 1873, Law Department, Canal and Drainage Act, 1873
(Act No. VIII of 1873), Gazette of India.
Government of East Pakistan, 1958, Law Division, East Pakistan Water and
Power Development Authority Ordinance, 1958 (Ordinance No. I of 1959),
Dhaka Gazette, Extraordinary, Dhaka.
Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, 1979, Ministry of Law and
Justice, Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board Ordinance, 1979
(Ordinance No XII of 1979), Bangladesh Gazette, Extraordinary, Dhaka.
Government of India, 1885, Law Department, The Telegraph Act, 1885 (Act No.
XIII of 1885), Gazette of India.
Government of India, 1898, Law Department, Post Office Act, 1898 (Act No. VI
of 1898), Gazette of India.
Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh,1986, Ministry of Law and
Parliamentary Affairs, Khulna City Corporation Ordinance, 1986 (Ordinance
No. LV of 1986), Bangladesh Gazette, Extraordinary, Dhaka.
Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, 1982, Ministry of Law and
Parliamentary Affairs, Chittagong City Corporation Ordinance, 1982 (Ordinance
No. XXXV of 1982), Bangladesh Gazette, Extraordinary, Dhaka.
Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, 1987, Ministry of Law and
Parliamentary Affairs, Rajshahi City Corporation Ordinance, 1987 (Ordinance
No. XXXVIII of 1987), Bangladesh Gazette, Extraordinary, Dhaka.
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Parliamentary Affairs, Pourashava Ordinance, 1977 (Ordinance No. XXVI of
1977), Bangladesh Gazette, Extraordinary, Dhaka.
The Dhaka Gazette, Extraordinary, 28th December 1968, Part IVA, Dhaka.
The Daily Janakantha, 16th March 1999, Dhaka.
Annual Report, 1992-93, Bangladesh Power Development Board, Khulna.
Annual Report, 1991-98, Khulna City Corporation, Khulna.
Annual Report, 1992-98, Public Health Engineering Department, Khulna.
Annual Report, 1980-98,Telegraph and Telephone Board, Khulna.
Annual Report, 1992-93, Bangladesh Power Development Board, Dhaka.
Plan Plus Volume 1 No 1 2001 pp. 1-13

ANALYSIS OF INFORMAL SECTOR ACTIVITIES IN THE METROPOLITAN CITY OF KHULNA

Md. Ashraful Alam1, Dil Rowshan2 and Golam Moinuddin Chisty3


1 Urban and Rural Planning Discipline, Khulna University
2 Independent University, Dhaka
3 Urban and Regional Planning Department, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka

Abstract

Population in the third world countries is increasing in an unprecedented rate. But the development pace of job market is not that
much satisfactory. This unsatisfactory growth of job market has accelerated rural out migration and urban immigration. As a
result, urban job market faces a tremendous pressure of surplus active age group population. Needless to say, most of these
populations are illiterate, landless and poor. Urban formal job sector cannot expand at the rate of urban population growth due to
policy and financial limitations. As such, this fraction of urban society seeks an alternative way for their existence. This gap
between population growth rate and urban formal job market leads to expansion of urban informal sector. Khulna being a
metropolitan city of one of the most poverty-stricken country faces similar problem. Various reasons can be attributed to the
urban pull of this city. Firstly, the cropping intensity of the hinterland is quite low due to salinity. These are the causes of low-
income generation and rural-urban migration. Secondly, Khulna and its satellite town Khalishpur were established as Industrial
City. This generated ample employment opportunity for labour class. Thirdly, establishments of Mongla Port also contributed in
pulling rural population from the surrounding region. Unfortunately, recent lay-off of some jute mills and other mills has caused
labour unemployment. Fourthly, the number of city population is also increasing due to natural growth and the establishment of
various educational institutions like Khulna University, Khulna Medical College, Bangladesh Institute of Technology and other
commercial and administrative activities which generate employment in the formal sector. In order to support these rural in-
migrants, unemployed industrial labour class and to meet up the service demands of the affluent urban population, informal
sector activities in Khulna City are expanding very rapidly. This enormous growth of informal sector activity has become a major
concern of policy and decision-makers of Khulna City since they pose a threat to the planning and administration. The current
paper will shed light on origin, growth and activity pattern of informal sector in Khulna City.

Key Words: Population, Informal sector, Metropolitan City, Khulna, Bangladesh

Introduction

Informal sector is an emerging and significant in 3rd world countries like Bangladesh. The urban
population of Bangladesh is also increasing at an alarming rate. The gap between the growth of
population and formal sector employment is giving the birth of informal activities in city areas.
In 1981 and 1991, urban population grew at a rate 5.45% annually (B.B.S. 1991). By the year
2000, the urban areas are likely to account for about 25% (or possibly more) of the national
population (Habitat, 1996). So, it is obviously impossible for the formal sector to absorb this
enormous urban population. As a result informal sector is the only sector of employment by
which they can get absorbed. The total population of Dhaka City in 1974 was 16 lakh. Of which
57% of the total labour force were engaged in informal sector (Shankland Cox and Partnership,
1981). The current population of Dhaka City is 90 lakh of which 65.1 are engaged in informal
sector. In a medium size town like Mymenshingh, 86.2% of the dwellers of informal settlements
were working in informal sector and 66.20% of them were earning within Tk. 500 – 1500
monthly (Alam, 1994). Khulna is the third largest metropolitan of Bangladesh. It is also an
important industrial belt of Bangladesh. The rate of urbanisation in Khulna during 1961, ’74, 81,
’91 was 7.06, 14.63, 22.41, 26.37 percent respectively (B.B.S. 1994). Population concentration
in urban areas also increases rapidly with urbanisation. Undoubtedly, it is quite impossible for
the urban formal sector to accommodate such additional unskilled, less or uneducated labour
force within its entity.

The present study tries to focus on the origin, family information, income level, working period, and choice of business place of
the people involved in urban informal sector in Khulna City.

Concept of Informal Sector

Informal sector refers to such sector which is composed of entreprenureships which posses very little capital and no legislative
basis. The family members or labour maintains some times the informal entreprenureships.

Accordingly to the interim report of KDA Master Plan Project, “Informal sector means – very small scale enterprises units
producing and trading goods and services and consisting largely of independent, self employed producers of goods and services
in urban areas. The activities operate with very little capital or none at all, utilising a low level of technology and skills. Thus, the
sector is characterised by a low level of productivity; and provides very low and irregular incomes and highly unstable
employment to those who work in it. They are informal in the sense that they are unregistered and unrecorded in official
statistics.”

Purpose and Methodology

The present study aims to explore the nature of informal sector activity, its contribution
in urban job market, income generation and problems associated with informal sector.
The methodology of the study is discussed below:
Firstly, the researchers conducted a reconnaissance survey on the whole city area in
order to find out the major concentration areas of informal activities. Secondly, on the
basis of reconnaissance survey, some areas have been selected in which informal
activities are highly concentrated. Thirdly, informal sector activities were classified
according to basic nature of operation i.e. trade, production and service. In one area,
numerous types of activities were found. One sample from each activity type was
selected for questionnaire survey. Fourthly, questionnaire survey was conducted on
these sample units. Issues incorporated in the questionnaire were types of activity,
income, origin, mobility, working hour, capital investment etc. The selected locations of
study areas and sample size are shown in Table1.

Table 1: Location of Study Areas and Sample Size


Sl Area Total No. No. of Percenta
. of Surveyed ge of
N Establish Establish Surveye
o. ment ments d
Establish
ment
1 Gallamari 138 10 5.26
2 Nirala 65 12 6.22
3 Khan-e-Sabur Rd(Nirala 191 12 6.32
toMoilapota)
4 Shivbari intersection 20 5 2.63
5 Sonadanga Bus Stand 70 9 4.74
6 New Market 171 12 6.32
7 Dak Bangla 416 24 12.63
(i)Picture Palace to
Hadis Park.
(ii)Picture Palace to
Post Office
(iii)Picture Palace to
Dak Bangla
through K.D. Ghosh
Road
8 Ahasan Ahamed Road 31 6 3.16
9 Rupsha Ghat 122 9 4.74
1 Rail Station 32 7 3.68
0
1 Steamer Ghat 51 6 3.16
1
1 BIDC Road and Wonder 495 25 13.16
2 Land
1 Baikali Cinema Hall 98 5 2.63
3
1 Daulatpur Bus Stand 200 16 8.42
4 And Baby Taxi Stand
1 Nutan Rasta Moar 34 4 2.11
5
1 BIT Moar 102 19 10.00
6
1 Ferrighat 65 9 4.74
7
1 Total 2301 190 100.0
8
Source: Field Survey, 1998.

Analysis of the Study Findings

It has already been mentioned that a pre-structured questionnaire survey was


conducted on the people who are involved with informal sector activities. Various
aspects of the findings are presented below:

Age and Sex: People from various age groups are involved in this sector. About 35
percent of the respondents fall with in the age of 31- 40 years i.e. the most active age
group. As a whole, almost 72 percent respondents fall with in the age group of 40 or
below. The sex distribution of the respondents shows that only 4 persons (2.10
percent) are female. This, in fact, does not indicate low rate of female participation in
income earning activities rather it indicates less dominance of female workers as sole
operator of informal activities. They usually work in association with other male family
members where assistance is required.

Table 2: Age structure of the Respondents


Age Group No Percent
20 or Less 14 7.37
21-30 57 30.00
31-40 66 34.74
41-50 33 17.37
51-60 11 5.79
61-70 6 3.16
71-80 2 1.05
81-90 & + 1 0.53
Total 190 100.00
Source: Field Survey, 1998.

Family Size: Income range determines the financial capability to support the family.
Although low-income people are less aware about the issues related with proper family
maintenance like education, health, shelter etc. It is found from Table 3 that majority of
respondents (38.76 percent) have five-member family. This large family also results
from the belief that this would ensure a steady supply of free labour in future. It should
be noted here that only 98 respondents gave information on their family structure.
Others were reluctant about supplying information regarding this issue since it required
much time and caused distraction from their business during the busy trading period.

Table 3: Family Size of the Respondents


Family No Percentage
size
2 10 10.20
3 24 24.49
4 26 26.53
5 30 30.61
>5 08 8.16
Total 98 100.0
Field Survey, 1998.

Level of Education of the Respondents: Informal sector activities does not require
much technical or theoretical education, because most of them are operated by the
under privileged section of the society who are unable to fulfil their basic human rights.
As such, it is found that most of the respondents (46.84 percent) are simply illiterate.
Formal educational background is not, in fact, necessary for any kind of informal sector
activity. It was observed that only about 31 percent respondents attained primary and
about 20 percent attained secondary level education (Table 4).

Table 4: Level of Education of the Respondents


Level of No Percent
Education
Illiterate 89 46.84
Class 1-5 59 31.05
Class 6-10 39 20.52
Class 11-12 3 1.58
Total 190 100.0
Source: Field Survey, 1998.

Place of Origin of the Respondents: District wise distribution of the respondents is presented in
Table 5. It is learned from this Table that the dominant group come from Khulna district. The
second majority come from Barisal which is a river bank erosion prone area. Respondents can be
classified in to three main categories basing on their origin, they are (i) those who come from
Khulna district (ii) those who come from the surrounding districts of Khulna and (iii) those who
come from distant districts.

Table 5: Places of Origin.


District No Percent
Khulna 65 34.21
Shatkhira 5 2.63
Bagerhat 17 8.94
Faridpur 14 7.36
Jessore 6 3.15
Patuakhali 5 2.63
Barguna 15 7.89
Bhola 1 0.52
Pirojpur 5 2.63
Noakhali 4 2.10
Barisal 44 23.15
Narail 3 1.57
Kushtia 1 0.52
Rajshahi 2 1.05
Dhaka 3 1.57
Total 190 100.00
Source: Field Survey, 1998.

Nature of Involvement

Nature of Labour Involvement: Informal sector activities incorporate small-scale enterprises in


terms of capital and labour involvement. Therefore, scope for hired labour involvement is very
limited. Mostly these are owner-operated establishments (74.21 percent). Hired labour is
involved only in some production-oriented activities like sugar cane juice, tea-stall, hotel, tailor,
metalworker etc.

Table 6: Nature of Labour Involvement


Type Productio Trade Service Total
n
N Perc N Perc N Perc N Perc
o ent o ent o ent o ent
Self Operated 2 52.6 92 76.6 2 90.6 14 74.2
0 3 6 9 2 1 1
Self and Family 1 34.2 24 20.0 3 9.38 43 22.6
Labour 3 1 0 3
Self and Hired 5 13.1 4 3.33 0 0 6 3.15
Labour 6
Total 3 100. 12 100. 3 100. 19 100.
8 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Source: Field Survey, 1998.
Working Days in a Week: It is found from this study that only about 27 percent respondents
take one or two days off while the rest work for 7 days in a week. The profit margin of these
enterprises is very narrow and they can hardly earn enough surplus income, which can support
them in holidays. From the observation, it is understood that only those respondents who have
permanent or immobile business around the permanent market places enjoy weekly holidays.
These establishments include fish-feed, hairdresser, meat-seller, bedding material etc.

Table 7: Working Days in a Week.


Worki Productio Trade Service Total
ng n
Days N Perc N Perc N Perc N Perce
o ent o ent o ent o nt
7 2 73.6 84 70.0 2 87.5 14 73.68
8 8 0 8 0
6 9 23.6 33 27.5 4 12.5 46 24.21
8
5 1 2.63 3 2.5 0 0 4 2.10
Total 3 100. 12 100. 3 100. 19 100.0
8 0 0 0 2 0 0
Source: Field Survey, 1998.

Working Hours in a Day: The range of working hours in a day determines the income or profit
range. More than half of the surveyed establishments remains open for more than 10 – 12 hours
in a day. Respondents involved in trade continue their business for comparatively longer hours
than other two categories. In production and trade category, there are some respondents who
operate for only 6 hours or less. The people who are otherwise engaged or in other words have
some secondary occupation basically operate these enterprises

Table 8: Working Hours in a Day


Working Production Trade Service Total
Hours No Perce No Percen No Percen No Perce
nt t t nt
4 or less 4 10.53 4 3.33 0 0 8 4.21
4-6 4 10.53 9 7.50 0 0 13 6.84
6-8 6 15.79 18 15.00 5 15.63 29 15.26
8-10 3 7.89 20 16.67 6 18.75 29 15.26
10-12 10 26.32 28 23.33 12 37.50 50 26.32
12-14 9 23.68 22 18.33 7 21.88 38 20.00
14-16 1 2.63 17 14.17 2 6.25 20 10.53
16-18 1 2.63 2 1.67 0 0 3 1.58
Total 38 100.0 120 100.0 32 100.0 190 100.0
Source: Field Survey, 1998.

Business Opening and Closing Time: It is realised from the discussion of Table 9 that people,
who work for more than 12 hours in a day, have to start their business from early hours of a day.
Majority of the enterprises of all three categories starts their business between 6 to 9 A.M. These
establishments start providing service to the concerned customers from morning. A good number
of enterprises start functioning from 15 -18 hours. In these areas concentration of customers
starts from that period. This is found mainly in Khalishpur area, which is predominantly an
industrial area.

Table 9: Business Opening and Closing Time


Time Production Trade Service Total
Open Closi Open Closi Open Closi Open Closi
ing ng ing ng ing ng ing ng
6-9 N 20 1 87 0 29 0 136 1
o
% 52.6 2.63 72.5 0.00 90.6 0.00 71.5 0.53
3 2 7
9- N 8 0 17 1 3 0 28 1
12 o
% 21.0 0.00 14.1 0.83 9.38 0.00 14.7 0.53
5 7 4
12- N 2 0 7 5 0 0 9 5
15 o
% 5.26 0.00 5.83 4.17 0.00 0.00 4.74 2.63
15- N 7 4 8 21 0 14 15 39
18 o
% 18.4 10.5 6.67 17.5 0.00 43.7 7.89 20.5
2 2 5 3
18- N 1 17 1 50 0 14 2 81
21 o
% 2.63 44.7 0.83 41.6 0.00 43.7 1.05 42.6
3 7 5 3
21- N 0 16 0 43 0 4 0 63
24 o
% 0.00 42.1 0.00 35.8 0.00 12.5 0.00 33.1
0 3 6
Tot 38 38 120 120 32 32 190 190
al
Source: Field Survey, 1998.

Spatial Consequences
Mobility Pattern: The nature of enterprises in terms of their physical location is
presented in Table10. A large section of business enterprises of this informal sector are
mobile in nature. This mobile type includes semi-processed food, sugarcane juice, fruit
seller, cobbler, etc.

Table 10: Mobility Pattern


Natur Production Trade Service Total
e No Perce No Perce No Perce No Perce
nt nt nt nt
Fixed 23 71.8 86 71.6 28 73.6 137 72.1
8 7 8 0
Mobile 9 28.1 34 28.3 10 26.3 53 27.8
2 3 2 9
Total 32 100 120 100 38 100 190 100.
0
Source: Field Survey, 1998.

Reason for Selecting the Business Place: The informal sector activities flourish in
those locations where large number of buyers and sellers of different categories come
in to contact. Agglomeration leads to higher selling and thereby higher profit. The
reasons for selecting the business area are presented in Table 11. It is revealed that
about 45 percent respondents had chosen the location because of concentration of
buyers. Next important criteria is nearness of the residence which indicate involvement
of no transportation to reach the place of work. Nearness of raw material and cheap
communication also influence location decision.
Table 11: Reason for Selecting the Business Place (Multiple Response)
Reasons No Percent
Close to residence 100 26.6
Availability of buyers 169 44.95
Close to source of raw 55 14.63
materials
Easy and cheap 48 12.77
communication
Others 4 1.06
Total No. of responses 376 100.0
Source: Field Survey, 1998.
Economic Characteristics
It is revealed from Table 12 that more than half (56.32 percent) of the respondents
earn Tk 2000 or less per month or in other words this is the amount handled for
maintaining their family. The rate of greater amount of money handling for this purpose
is comparatively higher among the producer group (55.26 percent) than the Trader
group (44.17 percent). Only about 31 percent of the Service group can manage to
provide more than Tk 2000 per month for family maintenance. The average income of
all three categories is Tk 2900. The average income of the enterprises involved with
production and service sector is comparatively higher (Tk 3200).

Table 12 Monthly Income


Activity Income Range (in Total
‘000)
Type

1-2 2- 3- 4- 5- No Perc
3 4 5 7 ent
Sugarcane Juice 2 4 0 0 0 6 3.15
Semi- Processed 10 4 0 0 0 14 7.36
Food
Production

Tea Stall 2 4 2 2 0 10 5.20


Hotel 0 0 2 1 0 3 1.57
Metal Work 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.52
Bedding Material 2 0 0 1 0 3 1.57
Tailor 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.52
Sub Total 17 12 4 4 1 38 20.0
Mat Seller 3 1 1 0 0 5 2.63
Trade

Cloth & Garments 5 2 1 2 0 10 5.26


Seller
Betal Leaf and 6 4 1 0 1 12 6.31
Chigeratte
Fruit Seller 10 9 2 2 0 23 12.1
Processed Food 19 0 0 1 0 20 10.5
2
Plastic Container & 7 1 0 0 8 4.21
Toys
Cosmetics/Amulet 3 3 1 1 0 8 4.21
/Spectacles/belt
Paper/Journal/Maga 4 0 1 0 0 5 2.63
zine /Book Seller
Herbal Medicine 2 1 0 0 1 4 2.11
Pottery 2 1 0 0 0 3 1.57
Grocery 1 1 4 0 0 6 3.15
Meat Seller 0 1 2 0 0 3 1.57
Fuel Wood Seller 2 3 0 0 0 5 2.63
Knife, Scissors etc. 2 3 0 0 0 5 2.63
Fish Feed 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.52
Old Tire/ Rubber 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.52
Products
Vegetable Seller 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.52
Sub-Total 67 32 13 6 2 12 3.16
0
Cobbler 8 1 9 4.73
Laundry 1 1 0.52
Hair Dresser 1 1 2 1.57
Service

Rickshaws/Torch/Lo 14 5 20 10.0
ck Repairer
Sub-Total 22 9 1 32 16.8
4
Grand Total 107 51 18 1 3 19 100.
1 0 0
Source: Field Survey, 1998.

Total Amount of Money Handled


Data on the total amount of money handled or transacted by the surveyed enterprises
is presented in Table 13. The analyses of data reveals that in the producer group grill
works generate highest amount of income. In the traders group there are eight
subgroups who handle the highest amount among them fruit sellers are the most
dominant. In the service group, the total income generation level is not so high.
Repairers are in a comparatively better position.

Table 13: Total Amount of Money Handled Per Month


Activity Money Handled (in ‘000) Total
Type

< 3- 6- 9- 12 15 18 21 No %
3 6 9 12 - - - +
15 18 21
Sugarcan 3 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 6 3.1
e Juice 6
Semi- 5 3 2 3 0 0 1 0 14 7.3
Processe 7
d Food
Tea Stall 3 1 0 2 2 2 0 0 10 5.2
Production

6
Hotel 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 3 1.5
7
Metal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.5
Work 2
Bedding 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 3 1.5
Material 7
Tailor 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.5
2
Sub Total 1 5 3 6 6 4 1 1 38 20.
2 0
Mat 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 2.6
Seller 3
Cloth & 0 0 4 2 1 1 1 1 10 5.2
Garments 6
r Seller
Betal 0 2 9 1 0 0 0 0 12 6.3
a Leaf and 1
Chigeratt
d e
Fruit 0 5 4 1 4 3 0 6 23 12.
e Seller 1
Processe 1 11 1 3 2 0 0 2 20 10.
d Food 52
Plastic 0 2 1 3 0 1 0 1 8 4.2
Container 1
& Toys
Cosmetic 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 2 8 4.2
s/Amulet 1
/Spectacl
es/ belt
Paper/Jo 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 5 2.6
urnal/Ma 3
gazine
/Book
Seller
Herbal 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 4 2.1
Medicine 1
Pottery 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 1.5
7
Grocery 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 1 6 3.1
5
Meat 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 1.5
Seller 7
Fuel 0 2 0 0 2 0 1 0 5 2.6
Wood 3
Seller
Knife, 0 2 0 1 2 0 0 0 5 2.6
Scissors 3
etc.
Fish Feed 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.5
2
Old Tire/ 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.5
Rubber 2
Products
Vegetabl 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.5
e Seller 2
Sub-Total 6 31 2 18 13 6 3 18 119 63.
4 16
Cobbler 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 4.7
3
Laundry 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.5
Services

2
Hair 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.5
Dresser 2
Rickshaw 1 6 1 2 0 1 0 0 21 11.
/Torch/Lo 1 05
ck
Repairer
Sub-Total 1 10 1 2 0 1 0 0 32 16.
8 84
Grand 3
46 2 27 19 11 4 19 190 100
Total 6 8 .0
Source: Field Survey, 1998.
Total Money Handled and the Nature of Labour Employment: Total amount of
money handled by the enterprises largely influence the nature of labour employment.
Extra income generated by the extra labour can be reinvested. The cases of higher
labour employment are comparatively few. In order to prevent leakage of income in the
form of wage, family members are employed where extra labour is required. Table 14
represents the nature of labour employment in relation to amount of money handled. It
is revealed from the Table that the last three groups rely upon the owners and family
member’s labour.

Table 14: Total Amount of Money Handled and Nature of Labour Employment
Amount of Type of Labour Employment Total
Money Sel Self & Hired Labour No %
Handled f Family and Family
(In Taka) onl Members Members +
y Self
< 3000 23 5 0 28 14.7
3
3000-6000 44 14 0 58 30.5
2
6000-9000 25 3 2 30 15.7
8
9000-12000 20 5 0 25 13.1
5
12000— 6 6 4 16 8.52
15000
15000- 8 4 0 12 6.31
18000
18000- 0 0 0 00 00
21000
21000 + 15 6 0 21 11.0
5
Total 14 43 6 19 100
1 0
Source: Field Survey, 1998.

Recommendations

The major objective of the study was to explore the nature of informal sector activities
in Khulna City and problems associated with that. The gap between the opportunity in
formal sector and unemployment compels the decision-makers to think otherwise. The
following are some recommendations made on the basis of the findings of the study.
Khulna is at a time metropolitan and industrial city. So, there exists a considerable
opportunity of employment generation in informal sector. Various government and
semi-government organisations can fill up their vacuum by candidates who hails from
informal sector-- of course only if they can satisfy the required qualification. Private
sectors, NGO’s should expand activities in urban areas so that additional employment
opportunity can be generated which in turn would reduce the spreading of sporadic
growth of urban informal sector.

In respect to a country like Bangladesh, where informal sector activity refers to sporadic
unauthorised activities initiated for earning livelihood- it means degradation of urban
living environment. Some major problems like unauthorised occupation of pedestrian
precinct, vacant land, air pollution, sonic pollution are the contributions of informal
sector in urban areas. If some regulatory measures regarding to agglomeration of
informal activities (according to the nature of business) in some specific locations can
be adopted, then instead of degrading the environment of the urban area, this will
ensure safety, security, and stability of the ventures. This can be a positive outlook of
managing the growth of informal sector in Khulna City area by Khulna Development
Authority.

It is a reality that education level has a relationship with the growth of informal sector.
The lower the education level is, the grater the number of people involved in informal
sector. If these groups of people can be equipped with technical and, to some degree,
formal education initiated either by government or by NGO’s or by both, will eventually
create scope for these people to get absorbed in formal sector. Both government and
NGO’s can initiate motivational schemes among this group regarding necessity, benefit
of possessing small size of family. These people must have to realise that smaller size of
family means lesser dependency of the members of a family on the sole income earner.

One of the major causes of increasing growth of informal sector in Khulna City is
uncontrollable migration of rural people into the city from the surrounding rural
settlements, thanas, and districts. Table 5 depicts that more than 50% of the people
engaged in informal activities are from district adjacent to the Khulna City (various parts
of Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Patuakhali, and Narail district). Basically landless,
destitute, peasants who suffers from severe economic hardship of these localities finds
no way except for migrating to the nearby big cities where opportunity is ample. To
them Khulna City is the first choice as it is the divisional town of this division. If
employment opportunity can be generated in these surrounding districts in farming and
non-farming activities, especially in off-season, then it is quite possible to reduce this
rate of rural –urban migration.
According to the constitution of Bangladesh every citizen of this country has sovereign
right over every inch of land. That means any citizen of this country can choose any
area for residing, business etc. purposes by fulfilling necessary formalities. But survey
result depicts that the informal activities, which require permanent stationing
frequently, occupy spaces, consumes utilities, services of the municipal authority
illegally. This in turn degrades the living environment of the city. The concerned
authority has not been found active in this regard. If measures had taken by the
concerned authority for realising taxes, then two positive trends would have been
developed. Firstly, this unauthorised occupancy of land and consumption of urban
services would have been reduced. Secondly, by paying the taxes, the informally active
people would have stable and got the secured ventures. Because payment of such
taxes means an urbanite becomes entitled of necessary urban services, facilities,
security.

Conclusion

Bangladesh is a poverty stricken country and its population are growing at a frightening
rate. Due to unemployment, natural growth and rural push factor. It is reality that the
population increasing unpredictably. But with the increasing rate of urban population,
scope of formal job sector is not generated. This gap between population growth rate
and urban formal job market leads to expansion of urban informal sector. But this
sector plays a critical role in the economy of urban area. Khulna is a third largest
Metropolitan City and also industrial town. Naturally informal sector activity is a
common phenomenon here with the nature and extent of informal sector activities the
present study recommended some measures which will help to improve their living
standard and also reduce the informal sector activities in the urban areas.
References

Alam, M.A., 1994. An analysis of informal settlement in a medium sized town of


Bangladesh. MURP Thesis, URP Department, BUET, Dhaka.
BBS., 1991. Population Census, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Government of the
People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka.
BBS., 1994, Statistical Year Book of Bangladesh. Ministry of Planning, Dhaka.
ILO., 1972. Employment, income and equality: a strategy for increasing productive
employment in Kenya. Geneva, ILO.
Islam, S., 1992. Informal sector Activities of a Medium Sized Town in Bangladesh-a
case study of Faridpur town. MURP Thesis, URP department, BUET, Dhaka.
Majumder, P.P., 1992. Urban Poverty , it’s Nature and Density. BIDS, Dhaka.
Shankland Cox and Partnership, 1981. Dhaka Metropolitan Area Integrated Urban
Development Project. Vol. I, Planning Commission, GOB, Dhaka.
Plan Plus Volume 1 No 1 2001 pp. 1-13

POPULATION AND POPULATION INTERVENTIONS IN BANGLADESH:


An Overview

Professor Dr. Moudud Elahi


Pro Vice Chancellor, National University of Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh, probably, has one of the most unique populations in the world. With an area of 55,000 square
miles, Bangladesh supports about 110 million population. For Bangladesh, the evolution of population has
had an overriding impact on these conditions. Therefore, containing the country’s large population within an
optimum limit has always become the primary issue of the population program of Bangladesh. In 1901
Bangladesh had a population of 28.92 million. It is rather difficult ascertain the actual annual rate of
population increase. During the 1951-61 decade population increased by about 2.2 per cent a year. The
trend of population in Bangladesh indicates a high growth potential within its limited geographical area.
Further, the population exhibits a number of interesting characteristics. The First Five-Year Plan (1973-78)
of Bangladesh expressed serious concern about the growing population. This resulted in the failure in
reducing the rate of growth in population. Nevertheless, this programs sufficiently increased the concern
over the consequences of rapid growth of population in the country that helped in reformulating population
planning in Bangladesh. A comprehensive National Health and Population Program was drawn up for the
Fourth Five-Year Plan (1990-95). The specific family planning and fertility related objectives of this plan
period included raising the CPR to 50 percent, reducing the CBR from 36.3 to 27 percent and reducing the
annual rate of population growth from 2.16 to 1.8 percent. The contemporary declining trend in fertility in
Bangladesh may be regarded as the remarkable success of the population program interventions.

Key Words:

INTRODUCTION

Bangladesh, probably, has one of the most unique populations in the world. She has the third largest and
the most homogeneous population in South and Southeast Asia and the eighth largest population in the
world. With an area of 55,000 square miles, Bangladesh supports about 110 million population (PDEU,
1991). The uniqueness of population of Bangladesh is expressed in her feature that 80 per cent of
population as rural, more than 65 per cent as agricultural, more than 85 per cent as Muslims, about 99 per
cent as Bangla speaking and a youthful age structure (45% in the age group of below 15 years).
Bangladesh has a uniformly high population density per square mile and her least developed urban are
primarily and non-agricultural in advantages. While the combined effects of these are reflected in a number
of ascribed and non-ascribed characteristics of her population, various aspects of these logically assert that
Bangladesh is confronting a serious population problem pertaining to its socioeconomic development
efforts. All these have led to worsening income distribution and the per capita income has remained low
(around US$ 210 only). The crucial phenomena in this respect are the existing economy of the country, the
limited geographical area. The socio-cultural structure and above all the current outlook, attitudes- in brief,
the actual functional ecology of mans operating in space, time, society and ecosystem. In Zelinsky’s terms,
the ‘geodemographic’ conditions in relation to the ‘growth syndrome’ of a country (Zelinsky, 1970). For
Bangladesh, the evolution of population has had an overriding impact on these conditions. Therefore,
containing the country’s large population within an optimum limit has always become the primary issue of
the population program of Bangladesh.

Data and Methodology: Despite the fact that Bangladesh and its adjoining areas have had a
tradition of census and vital registration extending over a century, a systematic analysis of
population is greatly handicapped by a lack of reliable data (ESCAP, 1981). Therefore, most of
census data are subject to post-enumeration correction and verification with the help of
independent demographic studies. Further, the demographic development has also been affected
by a succession of man-make and natural calamities, such as, famines, refugee movements,
devastating floods, cyclones and wars that tended to affect many of the census enumeration.
These factors have to be borne in mind in interpreting population data relating to size, growth
and distribution of population of Bangladesh (ESCAP, 1981).

Data for this study have been drawn form published statistics by individuals and research bodies
official census data (adjusted/corrected) and studies on the historical demography as well as
geographical materials. These provided not only a range of population data and other
geodemographic information but also population trends vis-a-vis aspects of population policy.

Objectives: With this background, this paper briefly traces the evolution of population in
Bangladesh in order to provide an idea of its problems and policy issues. And then specifically
looks into the pertinent issues of population program for a sustainable development of the
country. In meeting these objectives, Section A of this paper illustrates the evolution of
population in geodemographic context, and then, Section B reviews the major issues and
performances of population program having bearing on population growth and size.

Section A

EVOLUTION OF POPULATION IN GEODEMOGRAPHIC CONTEXT

The evolution of population in the area now forming Bangladesh can be viewed in five stages:
a. The Buddhist Period: Patterns of population distribution and size are not known in precise
before the Buddhist period (until 10th century A. D.). During this period two main areas were the
center for highest population concentration: (i) the Tista-Karotoya interfluves of East Bengal,
covering what is now northern Bangladesh and part of northern West Bengal (India); and (ii) the
lower Meghna valley covering eastern and central Bengal plain. The southern and northeastern
parts of East Bengal (now forming Khulna division and part of Dhaka and Chittagong divisions
respectively) were either sparsely populated or uninhabited due to tidal forests, swamps, water
bodies and rivers. The exact size of population of East Bengal during this period is hard to
estimate although various Chinese travelers (such as Yuan Chwang), repeatedly mentioned of its
dense and flourishing population (Watters, 1905)

b. The period of Hindu Revival: By the late 10th century A. D. Buddhism in North India
became a decadent movement due to the influence and contact with Hinduism. In the 8th century
A. D. Bengal witnessed an increasing political instability particularly against the Pala Dynasties
which continued till the mid-12the century, when the Buddhist Pala Dynastry was overthrown
by the Sena Dynasty. The Kings of Sena Dynasty were orthodox Hindus and followed policy of
persecution of the Buddhists, who were the dominant population group in Bengal at that time
(Ling, 1980). In fear of possible persecution, many Buddhists were forced to take refuge in
Burma, Thailand, SriLanka, and even as far as Cambodia and Laos. Subsequently, the population
of this part of Bengal declined significantly, three major centres of Buddhist culture (i. e.
Mahasthan, Paharpur and Mainamati) in East Bengal were destroyed.

c. The Muslim Period: The Arab and the Persian Muslim traders and preachers had contact with
South India and the port of Bengal since the 8th century. Sporadic settlements by the Muslims
began to develop in this region from then on. The advent of the Muslims coincided with the
persecution of the Buddhists in Bengal and northern India and many oppressed Buddhists and
untouchable Hindus embraced Islam during the 11th and 13th centuries (Ling, 1980). Islam
maintains a theory on ethical and social equality while Hinduism tends to adhere to strict social
inequality through a rigid caste system. The Buddhists; were also attracted Islam mostly by the
cult of Sufism which has spiritual parallel with Buddhists philosophy. Thus, by 1211 A.D. the
Muslims in Bengal reached between 2 to 3 million (GOP, 1951). The total population of East
Bengal during this time might have reached to about 6 million (Elahi, 1997).

After the fall of the Brahmanic Hindu rule by the invading Mughals in the early 13th century,
various parts of Bengal were consolidated and brought under a semi-independent Sultanate with
capital firstly at Gour and then at Sonargaon (near Dhaka). From this period; the region received
continuous flow of Muslim immigrants from various parts of India (GOP, 1951). These
immigrants led the great land reclamation scheme of southern Bengal, which continued for
several centuries. Probably because of the late influx of the Muslims in this part (southern
Bengal Plain/delta) their proportion has remained lower in later centuries during the 13th to 15th
centuries. However, the estimated population of Bengal fluctuated between 5 and 10 million
owing to natural disasters and epidemics.

During these two stages of population evolution, the pattern was of gradual growth over a short
period followed by an abrupt decline in response to various disasters (like epidemics, flood,
tropical cyclone, riverbank erosion, earthquake etc.) often followed by famines. Thus the long-
term change was more or less static. Following Davis (1950), Obaidullah (1966) estimated the
population of East Bengal at 17 million for 100 A. D. reaching about 19 million by 1750 (Table-
1).

Table-1: Estimated population of East Bengal, 1700-1850


Year Population (in Annual rate of
million) growth (%)
1700 17 -
1750 19 0.2
1770 15 -1.2
1800 17 0.4
1850 20 0.3
Source: Obaidullah, 1966.

d. The British Period: During the British Period the population distribution was taking a
definite pattern in most of East Bengal. The exact figures of birth or death rates were absent for
this period, but considering the overall demographic situation of the 18th and 19th centuries in this
part of Asia, it may be counted that both were very high leading to a very low rate of population
growth (Talbe-1). During the 19th century until very recently there are reasons to believe that the
population of East Bengal (like the whole of Indian subcontinent) grew very slowly because of
repeated occurrences of famines and epidemics. In 1881, about 25 million people were
enumerated in the area forming Wast Bengal (Patel, 1966 and Qureshi, 1960)

e. The period of ‘Demographic Divide’: The extent of popultion concentration in Bangladesh


(East Bengal) during the last century as to be understood in its geo-political context. The creation
of a Muslim political unit in Bengal under the framework of Pakistan was not necessarily viewed
as the result of direct Hindu-Muslim cleavage. In Bengal, Islam has always been more
accommodating and tolerant than the rigid dogma of the Pakistani Muslims because of the
former is cultural homogeneity (Tayyeb, 1966). The partition of India (1947) creating a Muslim
eastern Bengal (and the West Pakistan) was an expression of a demand for individual identity
and economic freeedom from the socioeconomic domination of the Caste Hindus and the Hindu
elites who dominated the economy of the reach, exploited the Muslim as well as the common
Hindus throughout the last few centuries (Broomfield, 1968 and Sayeed, 1967). The struggle to
free from this situation reached its clmax in the first decade of the present century when the
British authority began to realise the problem (Broomfield, 1968). Subsequently, a demand to
form a separate province, free from the exclusive control of Calcutta, was granted in 1905.

The new province, known as. Eastern Bengal, closely corresponding to Yeats’s River Basin
Scheme, had an area of 276,060 square kilometers with a population of 31 milion (59.3%
Muslim, 39.0% Hindu and 1.7% other religion) (Sayeed, 1967). But the clamour against the
formation of this new province by the Hindu elites and the Calcutta based mercantile class was
so great that in 1912 the British government nullified the scheme. This led to the frustration of
the East Bengalis, which later started a serious religious oriented political movement for the first
time of the region’s history. Muslims associated their demand with the movement of Pakistan for
a separate state. As India moved in the direction of independence, the religious conflict became
intensified. The Muslim feared oppression by the Hindu majority once independence was
obtained. The Hindu feared that the Muslim would somewhat block independence. Between
1930 and 1937, the idea of a separate state for the Muslims crystallized (Davis, 1950).

With the Partition of India in 1947, East Pakistan previously East Bengal was formed within the
framework of Pakistan, having an area of 54,000 sq. miles with a population of 42 million. It was
separated from relatively less densely populated areas of the region having high economic
potentials (some having overall Muslim predominance) such as, the Brahmaputra valley, the
northern tea plantation areas and part of the Calcutta-Hoogly industrial complex (Tayyev, 1966).
The post-partition political antagonism between India and Pakistan affected East Bengal/East
Pakistan both demographically and economically much more than the less populated and
industrially developed West Pakistan. Accompanying the partition was a wave of religious riot,
murder and arson together with mass increasement of population across the newly established
borders of India and the two wings of Pakistan (West and East Pakistan separated from each
other by about 1200 miles). Order was not restored until spring, 1948 (Davis, 1950).
Consequently, a demographically significant population shift ensured affecting regional
population distribution on the basis of religion-communal criteria.

Shortly after the partition, the concentration of population by religious beliefs became more
exclusive and distinctive as a result of selective population exchange based on religion.
According to the Indian census sources, India received 2.55 million (total 7.30 million) Hindu
refugees from East Bengal. In exchange, East Bengal received 0.699 million from India (GOP,
1951). Thus within less than a decade, the Sub-continent culminated into what may be termed as
the ‘Demographic Divide’ (Elahi, 1997), coupled with demographic immaturity, immobility and
lack of extra-territorial population expansion. With high birth and declining death rates, the
population has been showing an accelerated increase during the last several decades of the
twentieth century.

Table - 2 Evolution of Population in Bangladesh, 1872-1995


Yea Population (in % Exponential Density
r million) increase growth rate (ppsm)
187 22.78 421
2
188 25.09 456
1
189 27.10 8.01 0.78 502
1
190 28.92 6.71 0.70 426
1
191 31.56 9.08 0.94 574
1
192 33.25 5.38 0.60 604
1
193 35.60 7.07 0.74 647
1
194 41.99 17.96 1.70 763
1
195 44.16 5.17 0.50 803
1
196 55.22 25.16 2.26 1004
1
197 76.39 38.35 2.48 1388
4
197 71.42 29.34 2.20 1298
1
198 89.91 17.69 2.32 1635
1
199 109.87 22.20 2.03 1998
1
199 120.80 9.95 2.00 2283
5
* estimated
Sources: Elahi, 1997, BBS, 1981, 1991 (adjusted census data), and BBS, 1996.

Mutual antagonism between the Bengalis and the non-Bengalis in East and West Pakistan was
due to economic and socio-political issues which led to a civil war resulting in the independence
of East Pakistan with the creation of Bangladesh. The struggle and endeavor for independence by
the Bengali population in 1971 led to a nine-month war of liberation.
Under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibar Rahman, the Bangladesh nationalist leader, the Bengalis
started their struggle to thwart it, the then Pakistani military junta embarked upon a military
action that led to one of the gravest human tragedies of the last century (Rohde and Gardner,
1973).
It has been estimated that more than 1.6 million people died as a result of the military
persecution by the Pakistanis. Millions of Bengalis fled from their homes to neighboring India.
Over 9-month period, 10 million refugees from Bangladesh poured across the northeast frontiers
of India, namely, West Bengal, Assam and Tripura. The average daily influx was approximately
36,000 persons and during the peak flows months of May and June, the refugee influx often
exceeded 100,000 a day. Income generating activity the month of May 1971 alone, there was
nearly 3 million new arrivals (Rohde and Gardner, 1973). Nearly all constructed camps, but
some moved in with relatives as well. By December, 1971, about 1200 camps were operating
along the 2160 kms (1350 miles) in India-Bangladesh border (Rohde and Gardner, 1973). This
important geopolitical event, however, had virtually no demographic effect on the evolution of
population of Bangladesh, since after the independence of the country, almost all refugees
returned home voluntarily. This was probably the most successful voluntary repatriation of
refugee’s in the world. But at the same time, a sizable well-to-do non-Bengali population left
Bangladesh for Pakistan and some for India exchange of the stranded Bengalis in Pakistan.
Besides, around 125,000 non-Bengalis, popularly known as the Biharis, who collaborated with
the Pakistanis, were repatriated with the POWs by the initiatives of the International Center for
Red Cross and the Indian government (Kamaluddin, 1985).

Pattern of Population Change

The growth of population in Bangladesh the present century has been the result of an excess of
births over deaths as there has been no large-scale immigration. And since the last century two
stages of acceleration in the pattern of population change in Bangladesh have taken place (Elahi,
1997):
a. the slow rate of population growth until 1921; and
b. the accelerated increase of population since 1921 and a fresh momentum to it after 1951.

In 1901 Bangladesh had a population of 28.92 million. It increased by 9.08 per cent by 1911
(Table -2). In the period 1911-21 the rate of increase was very slow (538 percent) due to high
mortality from the influenza epidemic of 1918-19. After that, the growth rate started to recover
till 1931. In view of the overestimation in the 1941 census due to unstable socio-political
conditions (GOP, 1951), it is not possible to examine the exact rate of increase of population for
the decade 1931-41, but it is observed that this decade was a normal year, if one regard the
fertility and mortality conditions, the population increase might have been higher than 17.96 per
cent. In the next decade (1941-51) the rate of increase was low (5.17 per cent) due to the Bengal
famine in 1943, which cost about 2.8 million lives (ESCAP, 1969), and to subsequent movement
of population during the partition of India in 1947. In East Bengal (Bangladesh) there was a
gross outward movement of about 2.5 million and in movement of 0.70 to 0.85 million people
(Qureshi, 1960; and Visaria, 1969). The decade 1951-61 showed a relatively higher rate of
population increase (Table 2), owing to somewhat stable socio-political conditions, the-
combined effect of the efforts of improved health condition adopted in post-famine years and a
successful check on famines. To a great extent, this rise has been the result of an unprecedented
acceleration of the rate of growth of Muslim population (26.9 per cent) in the country (GOP,
1951). The 1951-61 increase and the subsequent increases may also be aided, together with the
impact of the post-Partition’Demographic Divide’, by the eradication of several killer diseases.
Such as malaria, small pox and cholera, particularly in the decade 1971-81. This trean further
continued through the subsequent years as a result of an improvement in child and maternal
mortality situations supported by the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) and the Expanded
Program of Immunization (EPI) during 1981-91 (Table 2).

Birth and Death Rates: Although registration of births and deaths was introduced in Bengal in
1892, the available figures, until in recent years, were far from correct because of various
administrative and technical limitations and in the absence of vital statistics from other sources.
It is rather difficult ascertain the actual annual rate of population increase. Various estimates
have confirmed that the increase in population the pre-partition period has not been very rapid,
and the Crude Birth Rate and Crude Death Rate were estimated at 50 to 55 and 41 to 47
respectively (Table 3) with periodically the death rate (during epidemics or famines) reaching as
high as 60 (Qureshi, 1960; and Ahmad, 1966). This gave an annual rate of increase of less than
1.00 percent during the early year of the last century which was governed from time to time by
high death rates as a result of epidemics and famines, such as 1866-67, 1873-74, 1876, 1884-85,
1907-08, 1918-19 and 1947 (Bhatia, 1967), (Learmonth, 1958; Elahi and Ruzicka, 1981). After
1931, the growth of population improved a little as a result of the measures undertaken to check
the intensity of eqidemics and local diseases as well as improvement in health and sanitary
situations. This affected a drop in death rate to about 42 in 1930s, while the birth rate remained
more or less stable and high (Table 3). The mortality and fertility conditions were offset during
1941-51, as mentioned earlier, by famine and the unsettled socio-political situation, resulting in a
low annual increase in population (less than 1 per cent). During the 1951-61 decade population
increased by about 2.2 per cent a year. After 1971, both CBR and CDR registered steady and
definite declining trends.

Table-3 Vital rates of Bangladesh, 1881-1995


Yea CB IM Yea CB IM
r R CD R r R CD R
R R
188 41. 195 49. 40. 168
1 0 1 4 7
189 41. 196 48. 29. 144
1 3 1 1 7
190 44. 197 51. 35. 200
1 4 1 7 0
191 53. 45. 205 198 42. 14. 122
1 8 6 1 0 0
192 52. 47. 198 199 32. 11. 91
1 9 3 1 0 0
193 50. 41. 179 199 16. 8.4 75
1 4 7 5 5
194 54. 37. 200 * estimated
1 7 8
Sources: Davis, 1950;BBS, 1978; Kabir, n. d. (for 1961-74); Elahi and Ruzicka, 1981; Mosley
and Hossain, 1973 (for 1971); RDEU, 1991 (for 1981-91; and BBS, 1996 (for 1995).

A brief history of migration and mortality syndrome: The first census of independent
Bangladesh was held in 1st march, 1974. Three major calamities-natural and man-made took
place during the 1961-74 inter-censal period contributing substantially to the total death rate. The
tropical cyclone and flood of November 1970 cost between 200,000 to 600,000 human lives
(ESCAP, 1981), mostly in the coastal region. During the War of Liberation extending through 9
months from March 1971 there was indiscriminate killings by the Pakistan army as they swept
out from the towns into the rural areas in pursuit of freedom fighters. As a direct result of the
army action, about 10 million refugees took shelter in the adjoining states of India (see above).
An estimate by the UN put 16.6 million people displaced from their homes within Bangladesh
for at least one month (Greenough and Cash, 1973). Mortality rates during this period were not
known in precise. Various estimates put the figures at 1 to 3 million deaths (Greenough and
Cash, 1973; and ESCAP, 1971). This raised the CDR from a normal level of 16 to 21 during the
war (UNROD, 1972). This represented an increase of 31 per cent from normal years and
indicated that a minimum of 1.6 million deaths occurred. The actual mortality figure is much
higher since those deaths that resulted directly from military hostilities are not included in this
estimate (UNROD, 1972). In 1974 (the census year) saw a local famine in Bangladesh. The
number of deaths during this famine was officially estimated at 30,000 (ESCAP, 1981). Despite
these catastrophes, the population counts in 1974 reached 71.4 million. The above incidents also
depressed the CBR to some extent although the overall trend in the fertility pattern was not
affected (Mosley and Hossain, 1973).

Reproductive Characteristics and Population Potentials: During 1974 to 1995, a downward


trend in CBR has been observed with a marked decline in the CDR (Table 3). Such a trend in
both the rates has been due to the successful control of communicable diseases, food scarcity /
famines, improving medical facilities, an improvement in maternal and child health as well as to
some extent ot the impact of the family planning activities in the country through the MCH/EPI
programs through rural health complexes and the multitude of voluntary organizations. Despite
this trend in the fertility and mortality levels, the future size of Bangladesh population will
depend more on fertility than on mortality or migration.

The trend of population in Bangladesh indicates a high growth potential within its limited
geographical area. Further, the population exhibits a number of interesting characteristics (Table
4). Some of the key features are noted here. Mortality, especially infant and child mortality
continues to remain high, although some marked improvements have occurred during the last
decade. There is evidence of modest improvement of life expectancy during the recent decades.

Fertility, on the other hand, continues to remain high considering the demographic and
developmental perspectives of the country, even though some significant decline has been
observed in the recent years. Of the total population about 49 percent (54 million) are women, of
which 20 percent (22 million) are married women; and a total of about 80 percent are currently
married women of reproductive age (15-49 years). The number of women of reproductive age
will continue to grow rapidly in the next decade and another 25 million young females will enter
in the reproductive ages. This is likely to be inevitable as women marry young (mean age at
marriage: 18 years). They also start childbearing ages early, the median age at first birth being
about 18 years, and about 60 percent start bearing child age by age 20. On an average,
Bangladesh women give birth to three children by late 20s, five children by late 30s and almost
seven children by the end of their child bearing age (GOB, 1996).

Table-4: Selected Population Indicators of Bangladesh, 1994-95.


Indicators Total Rural Urban
A. Population Structure (1995) 120.8 94.4 26.4
Population (million) 105 104 108
Sexratio (,/100f) 1.8 1.9 1.4
Natural increase (%) 13.2 13.8 11.9
Age structure (%) 0-4 28.2 29.0 26.5
5-14 48.1 46.2 51.5
15-49 5.2 5.3 4.8
50-59 5.4 5.6 5.0
60+
Education and Literacy
Literacy rate (5+):Total 37.2 30.0 51.8
Male 42.6 35.5 56.7
Memale 31.3 23.9 46.3
Primary school enrolmnt (%): Total 74.2 73.4 84.8
Male 80.7 78.5 91.5
Femals 73.4 68.0 89.4
Primary school dropouts (%): Male 15.3 16.2 7.1
Female 17.6 18.5 51.8
B. Nuptiality (1994)
Female mean age at marriage (years) 18.3 17.8 19.5
Male mean age at marriage (years) 25.6 - -
General marriage rate 15+ (per 1000) 17.9 18.9 16.2
Curremtly married female (15-49) (%) 79.9 82.0 74.1
C. Fertility (1995)
CBR (per 1000) 26.5 25.5 20.0
TFR 3.5 3.7 2.3
Children ever born per wom/n (45-49) 6.0 6.7 5.0

D. Contraception, 1994 46.3 44.9 53.4


Currently married women (%) using: 39.3 38.2 45.8
Any method 6.9 6.7 7.6
Modern methods
Traditional metholds
E. Mortality (1995)
CDR (per 1000) 8.4 9.0 6.7
IMR (per 1000 live births) 75 78 53
Life expectancy at birth (years) 58 57 61
Maternal mortality rate (per 1000 live 4.5 4.6 3.7
births) 65.8 61.3 76.3
Vaccination/innoculation *(0-2 yrs)
rate (%)
* includes DPT, polio, measles and BCG vaccinations.
Source: BBs. 1996.

Despite this apparently gloomy scene, Bangladesh has experienced a significant and supposedly
sustained fertility decline over the last 20 years. The TFR declined sharply from 6.3 in 1975 to
4.3 in 1991 and to 3.4 in 1994 (BFS, 1975, Mitra et. al. 1993 and BDHS 1993-94). Amongst the
developing countries this success has been recognized and acclaimed by a number of researchers
(Caldwell, 1994, Mauldin and Ross, 1994 and Carty et. al. 1893). The success is reflected in the
gradual improvement in the contraceptive use rate of women during this period. Between 1976
and 1986 the use of contraceptive increased from 7.9 to 25.3 percent. The use rate rose
particularly between 1986 and 1994-from 25.3 to 45 percent. The level of contraceptive use rate
improved by over 32 percentage and the annual rate of change has been 2.0 per cent. There are
regional and-urban differentials in the current use of family planning methods. Chittagong
division is still lagging behind the other areas of Bangladesh. The Contraception Prevalence Rate
(CPR) is higher among urban women (54 percent) in contrast to that of rural counterpart (43
percent) (Barkat et. al. 1995). However, the population in the country has a very high growth
potential compared to many countries in Asia. Compared to any South Asian country (Table 5),
the population of Bangladesh is growing at a fairly faster rate with an annual growth rate of
about 2.3 to 2.0 per cent which is adequate enough to double the present population by 2025.

Table-5: Selected Population Indicators (1990-92) of the countriews in South Asia


Countrie Population (milli Doubli TF CP G Cropland
s 199 201 on) ng R R NP (ha)per
2 0 2025 time (% capita
)
Banglad 111.4 165. 211.6 29 4.9 31 20 0.08
esh 4 0
India 882.6 1172 1383. 34 3.9 49 25 0.20
.1 1 3
Nepal 19.9 30.2 40.8 28 6.1 14 17 0.14
0
Pakistan 121.7 195. 281.4 23 6.1 12 38 0.17
1 0
Sri 17.6 23.4 24.0 46 2.4 62 47 0.11
Lanka 0
Source: Green, 1992.

Section B

POPULATION PROGRAM: POLICY INTERVENTIONS

The accelerating rate of population growth in recent decades and the growing awareness of the
negative effects of such a growth led to a national consensus in favor of adoption of measures to
control this trend, and thereby limit the size of population. This awareness as reflected in the
national population programs may be summarised in five phases. These phases reflect changes in
population policy income generating activity terms of its organizational structure, strategy and
objectives (ESCAP, 1981). These are:

First phase (1953-59): Small-scale contraceptive services sponsored by the Family Planning
Association.
Second phase (1960-65): Official government program, clinic based and measures implemented
through the local health center facilities.
Third phase (1965-70): Large scale field oriented program with a strong information and
education component, administered by an autonomous organization.
Fourth phase (1973-75): A relatively short interim phase of integrated health and family
planning program (during 1970-72, the population programs were disturbed due to the War of
Liberation, 1971); and
Current phase (1976 onward): Community involvement in maternal and child health (MCH)
based family planning programs with a multi-sectoral approach.
But by far the most important development in the population planning activities took place in the
post-Independence years of Bangladesh. The First Five-Year Plan (1973-78) of Bangladesh
expressed serious concern about the growing population (GOB, 1973). The plan advocated a
moderate demographic goal of reducing birth rate from 47 to 43 and the growth rate from 3 to
2.8 percent in five years. This plan also made a total allocation of US$ 87.5 million (ESCAP,
1981). But owing to the slow progress in the preparation of the scheme and to somewhat
unsetteled socio-economic condition of post-war Bangladesh, this allocation was revised, and
this affected the performance of the population programs. Besides this, during this period, most
effort was put noto the organizational structure of the program rather than on the clinical and
field activities. This resulted in the failure in reducing the rate of growth in population.
Nevertheless, this programs sufficiently increased the concern over the consequences of rapid
growth of population in the country that helped in reformulating population planning in
Bangladesh

In June, 1976, a National Population Policy Guideline was officially approved which envisaged
an accelerated decline in the rate of population growth-from 3 percent in 1975-76 to 2 percent in
1979-80, and to reduce TFR from 6.4 to 2.6 in the respective years so as to maintain a rate of
population growth of 1.5 by the end of this century (ESCAP, 1981). The policy recognized ‘the
urgent need for the totla reorientation of the strategy making population control and family
planning program an integral part of social mobilzation and national development efforts …..
The measures proposed to accomplich the intended results included family planning and MCH
services as well as those of social, legal and economic efforts. Towards these ends, the program
included: service-oriented measures, educational and social measures, organizational measures,
legal measures, research and training (ESCAP, 1981).

In late 1978, the government took a political commitment to contain the size of population within
100 million by the year 2000. However, this goal seemed too far to be achieved within the set
time frame. Hence, the national population programs, apart from the measures undertaken,
adopted for a multi-sectoral approach to further strengthening its strategies. This is primarily
being financed by the World Bank and the UNFPA. The major components of the multi-sectoral
approach are summarised below:

a. Labour and Social Welfare Division:


Formation of mother’s clubs to provide education and services.
Population education for out-of-school children when includes vocational training.
Functional education and information on population issues.
Informal contacts with industrial labor in the industries and tea plantations.

b. Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives:


Population and education through rural cooperatives.

c. Ministry of Education, Science and Technology:


Population education curricula in different levels of formal education.
Training of school teachers on population issues and family planning.

d. Ministry of Agriculture:
Population education and motivation programs in the project in thanas,
Population tranining curricula in all agricultural Extension Training Institutes.

e. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting:


Dissemination of population and family planning related information through mass media (viz.
Radio, T. V., film, newspapers etc.).

f. Women’s Affairs Division:


Vocational training and family education and services through established centres.
Raising status of women.

g. Planning Commission (Ministry of Planning):


Research, education and services on population institutions, government and non-government
organizations.

Population planning activities following these multi-sectoral approaches have continued


throguhout the subsequent decades as well. The resultant performance of population planning
activities may be understood from Table- 6.

Table-6: Performance of population planning in different years


Year CBR( CDR( IMR( Growth CP TF
s %) %) %) rate (%) R R
1971 51.7 35.0 3.00 5.0
1975 47.0a 16.0 152a 7.9 6.7
1981 43.3b 14.0 122b 14. 6.3b
0a
1985 39.0 2.20 25. 5.1
0
1991 36.3c 11.0c 91 2.07 33. 4.3
0
1995 26.5 8.4 75 1.80 46. 3.4
0
*estimated.a for 1973. b for1980. c for 1989-90. – not
available/computed
Sources: Task Force, 1991: GOB, 1994 and BBS, 1996.

The Second Five-Year Plan (1980-85) aimed at raising the Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR)
from 14 percent to 38 per cent through a substantial expansion of family planing activities and
service delivery system. The plan aimed at a drastic reduction in the CBR from 43.25 to 31.56
(Task Force, 1991). However, this target could not be achieved fully for various organizational
and administrative reasons.

The Third Five-Year Plan (1985-90) aimed at raising the CPR from 25to 40 percent by 2000 and
to reduce to CBR from 39 to 31. The target was similar to that of the preceding plan period,
although the gap between targets and achivement has narrowed down considerably, however,
again the achievement fall short of the target. The CPR increased to 33 in 1989, and the CBR
declined to 36.3 and the TFR to about 4.5 (Task Force, 1991).

Recent program and activities

A comprehensive National Health and Population Program was drawn up for the Fourth Five-
Year Plan (1990-95). The purpose of this program was to promote the development and
operation of an integrated health and family welfare system with an aim to achieve two goals: (a)
health for all by the 2000 and (b) a net reproduction rate (NRR) of one by the year 2005. The
specific family planning and fertility related objectives of this plan period included raising the
CPR to 50 percent, reducing the CBR from 36.3 to 27 percent and reducing the annual rate of
population growth from 2.16 to 1.8 percent (GOB, 1996).

As far the population planning of Bangladesh is concerned, this plan period is deemed important
for being instrumental in brining about a significant change in the demographic set up of the
country. It was in this plan period that several important strategies were implemented whose
effects have been realized in the subsequent years too. The key elements of the strategies are:

1. Turning the population program into a social movement,


2. Intensify family planning (FP) and maternal and child health (MCH) efforts,
3. Intensify motivational efforts by increasing the involvement of multi-sectoral agencies to
create and crystalize demand for family planning and MCH services,
4. Offer services in a functionally integrated manner,
5. Enhance the accessibility of services through satellite clinics (and later by establishing the
‘Green Umbrella Movement’ of the MCH/EPI).
6. Strengthen the service delivery system through a variety of interventions (mainly
organizational and administrative structural as well as multi-sectoral approaches),
7. Encourage the complementary and supplementary role of the NGOs to create innovative, cost-
effective, and nationally replicable service-delivery and demand-generation models, and 8.
Undertake various measures having fertility-depressing impacts (e.g. improvements in the status
of women by various social, economic and legal means).

These have led to a drastic increase in the CPR to 46 percent and a lowering CBR (26.5) in 1995
(Table-6). The remarkable success achieved by the national population programs during the past
decade is mainly due to an intensive campaign launched through concerted efforts using
appropriate strategies (GOB, 1996). This is reflected in the fertility (as well as mortality)
transition as noted in recent years (Table-6). Nevertheless, this trend has to be maintained. The
main strategic issue in this connection may be to sustain the level of program achievement
already attained, to increase output further, to accelerate the effect and impact of the program
and to increase cost-effectiveness of program interventions.

Implications of program interventions

In view of the current trends in CPR and TFR, a 30-year projection of contraceptive acceptors,
users, CPR, effective prevalence rate, TFR and population size till 2024 under the ‘Quality
Projection’ has been made (GOB, 1996). The Quality Projection produces an increase of CPR
from 46 to 65 percent by 2005. This amounts to a rise of the CPR by 19 points in 11 years or
1.73 points per years which is slightly lower than the preceding decade. However, the effective
prevalence rates increases by 17 points during this period. This projection, as expected, produces
a decline in TFR from 3.4 to 2.3 in 2005, a RFR needed to attain replacement of fertility (Table-
7). This will lead to a population size of 141 million in 2005 and 168 million by 2024 (Table-7).

Table-7: Family planning and population indicators (Quality Projection) for Bangladesh, 1994-
2024
Yea Total Total Contracep Effcctiv Total Total
r Contrace Contrace tive e Fertili Populati
ptive ptive Prevalenc Prevale ty on
Acceptor Users e Rate nce Rate
s Rate
199 2,073,60 10,080,6 45.8 30.9 3.44 118,076,
4 2 93 469
199 2,384,51 10,488,9 46.2 31.3 3.44 120,098,
5 8 30 873
199 2,657,86 11,110,1 47.4 32.1 3.39 122,189,
6 1 15 625
199 2,903,89 11,874,3 49.0 33.3 3.31 124,324,
7 2 19 073
199 3,130,87 12,742,0 50.8 34.7 3.12 126,479,
8 1 90 888
199 3,344,21 13,693,2 52.7 36.2 3.10 128,642,
9 9 83 476
200 3,544,39 14,718,9 54.7 37.9 2.98 130,800,
0 8 86 627
200 3,726,76 15,811,0 56.7 39.8 2.85 132,944,
1 4 45 008
200 3,891,16 16,961,0 58.7 41.7 2.71 135,062,
2 5 88 318
200 4,035,47 18,162,3 60.7 43.7 2.58 137,144,
3 5 45 234
200 4,154,70 19,407,9 62.7 45.7 2.44 239,176,
4 1 86 002
200 4,239,62 20,688,0 64.7 47.8 2.31 141,139,
5 0 96 933
200 4,076,67 21,985,7 66.7 49.6 2.20 143,029,
6 4 73 119
200 4,008,26 23,002,8 67.9 50.8 2.14 144,836,
7 5 51 149
200 3,955,79 23,862,9 68.9 51.8 2.09 146,580,
8 5 15 072
200 3,877,14 24,603,7 69.8 52.8 2.05 148,276,
9 3 50 797
201 3,888,65 25,219,9 70.3 53.4 2.05 149,936,
0 8 32 797
201 3,887,38 25,815,2 70.8 54.1 2.04 151,582,
1 0 79 390
201 3,865,62 26,378,3 71.4 54.8 2.03 153,199,
2 1 69 866
201 3,817,10 26,893,6 72.1 55.5 2.01 154,774,
3 4 33 661
201 3,732,83 27,342,4 72.7 56.2 1.99 156,289,
4 0 46 335
201 3,727,33 27,700,1 73.1 56.7 1.98 157,747,
5 9 04 176
201 3,717,77 28,054,0 73.4 57.2 1.98 159,160,
6 3 54 513
201 3,702,55 28,403,5 73.8 57.7 1.98 160,528,
7 6 43 132
201 3,680,21 28,745,3 74.1 58.1 1.98 161,818,
8 1 63 101
201 3,649,92 29,073,3 74.5 58.6 1.97 163,118,
9 6 86 401
202 3,619,09 29,378,0 74.7 58.9 1.96 164,333,
0 7 92 711
202 3,590,49 29,659,9 74.8 59.2 1.96 165,489,
1 7 27 739
202 3,563,36 29,921,9 74.9 59.4 1.96 166,586,
2 7 24 672
202 3,538,31 30,162,7 745.0 59.6 1.96 167,625,
3 2 22 713
202 3,514,88 30,377,9 75.1 59.8 1.96 168,610,
4 9 99 619

Sustainability of Population Program and Development

The Bangladesh Country Report, 1994 prepared for the International Conference on Population
and Development (ICPD), Cairo (Egypt) suggests that the country’s future in the family planning
depends on the efforts in reducing mother and child death, improvement in the status of women
and a sound cooperation in this regard between the government and the NGOs.
The present population of Bangladesh will continue to grow until the middle of the next century.
Therefore, continued rearrangement of resource allocation and manpower mobilization, along
with other clinical and service delivery measures will have to be ensured on the part of the
government. For this, an additional US$ 5400 million will be required in the next 30 years to run
the population program that will be able to provide sustainable FP/MCH services to the growing
population. Out of this amount, more than US$ 4000 million will be required for maintaining the
present CPR of 40 percent and an additional US$ 1400 million will be required to increase the
CPR to 70 percent (COB, 1994).

This report also put forward seven-point suggestions for a sustained population program. These
are in short continued promotion of small family norms and improve the family planning
program, reduction of maternal mortality, reduction of infant mortality, improvement of the
status of women, promotion of equal partnership and enhancement of male responsbilities. It
should be noted that many of these suggestions have already been embodied in the National
Health and population program of the Fourth Plan (1990-95). The report further recommended
preserving the rights of the adolescent and children, developing a comprehensive reproductive
health care program, increasing involvement of NGOs and private sectors, and collaborating with
countries and development partners (GOB, 1994).

In this connection, it should be noted that in the post-Independence period, Bangladesh have
undergone a multi-face change similar to many countries of the world. There has been a
significant change in many social traditional role of women and work as well as in male’s views
about women’s prime roles as mother and housekeeper. The crisis centering around economic
survival in the face of growing population pressure under the finite carrying capacity of land
resources has already led to an overall attitudinal change of the people about limiting family size.
In urban areas and among the educated class, the increasing mobility of men and women, and the
latter’s newly gained social and often economic status prompted them to take an increasing part
in contraception decision-making. Besides, cheap and easy availability of FP/MCH services in
recent years has accounted for the steady and indeed faster decline in fertility in Bangladesh.
This is obviously the evidence of the success of the Bangladesh population program in recent
years.

Future of the population program

Bangladesh are yet to go a long way to reach the replacement level of fertility and stabilize
population growth. The present social and economic conditions of a great majority of population
of Bangladesh living in an impoverished life do not provide a favorable environment for a rapid
fertility decline. Therefore, the population program should now be modelled to address the social
and economc security for this group of population. The gap in health and education programs
between urban and rural areas and between male and female must be bridged up within a shortest
possible time to make the current population program interventions sustainable.

Education, specially female education and health, specially MCH, have an overriding impact on
fertility in any society, and evidences in this regard are prolific. In Bangladesh about 34 percent
of adult females are now literate. (1995). A high dropout rate (over 40 percent) of female
enrolment is characteristic of all levels of schooling in the country. The coverage and quality of
MCH services have much scope to improve, particularly in rural areas. Therefore, it is not
unlikely to note that the IMR and maternal mortality rates are still quite high compared to many
developing countries in South Asia.

At the economic level, the present trend of growing landlessness and diminishing per capita
landholding have to be reversed through land reforms and opening up of alternative and/or
supplementary employment opportunities in the rural areas. This will have a negative effect on
the growing rural-urban migration of population (these and related issues are not discussed in
detail here as they do not concern the immediate objectives of this paper). The future of the
success of population program interventions will much depend on these and related issues.
CONCLUSION

The nature of population evolution perpetuating a degree of population


mobility in the past and culminating into a situation of ‘demographic divide’
during the middle of the present century and a fast declining mortality
coupled with slow decline in fertility have led to the current patterns of
population growth, density and variation over time and space in the region
now forming Bangladesh. The present trend of population, ruling out the
possibility of international migration at a significant rate, indicates a high
growth potential. On the other hand, the spatial patterns of population
concentration and variation under the present agro-based economic situation
and the typical geodemographic characteristics of Bangladesh are likely to
affect in a substantial way the country’s socio-economic development in the
coming years. It is in this contxt that efforts have been make to contain the
population growth and limit its size. And the poplation program strategies
have undergone several phases of development during the recent decades.

The contemporary declining trend in fertility in Bangladesh may be regarded as the remarkable success of
the population program interventions. The awareness generated by the last three decades having a
positive impact on the family planning motivations has received momentum due to the realization by the
people of the critical balance of population-resource base of the country, and to a radical social and
economic transformation of Bangladesh during the post-Independence years. Alongwith the development in
other sectors, this has resulted in the demand for FP-MCH-EPI services affecting the CPR to nearly 50
percent of married couples. The CPR has to be increased to over 70 percent and sustaining at that level so
as to reach the replacement level of fertility by the middle of the next century.

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Plan Plus, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2001, pp.

CONSTRAINTS FOR THE DEVELOPING ECONOMIES TOWARDS INTEGRATING


WITH THE WORLD ECONOMIC SYSTEM

Dr. Mahmudul Hasan1, Md. Ashraful Alam2 , Mohsin Uddin Ahmed3


and A B M Rashiduzzaman4
1to 3
Urban and Rural Planning Discipline, Khulna University
4
Business Administration Discipline, Khulna University

Abstract

The New International Division of Labor (NIDL) and the Emerging Regional Division of Labor (RDL) between the
Newly Industrializing Countries and the low-income developing nations have facilitated industrial growth in the
latter group. The developing nations have also taken a number of measures for industrial development, and for
integrating their economies with the global economic system. Revolutionary advancements in information
technology and improvements in transport and communications have hastened this process. The multinational
companies of the west are now increasing by looking for low cost production centers in the South. With the
weakening of state-governments, and the rise of transnational capital, economies are opening up gradually. Political
boundaries between countries have become increasingly blurred, and firms and industries can transcend national or
regional limits very quickly. Despite such developments, the developing countries face a number of obstacles
towards their endeavor of economic success, and consequently, integrating with the global economic system. This
paper tries to identify the major constraints in this connection such as undeveloped and uncertain investment
environment, unfavorable terms of trade, small size of domestic market, lack of skilled manpower, limited access to
technology, and barriers from the developed countries. And finally conclusions are drawn of the whole discourse
based on the judgment and rationale of the authors.

Key Words: New International Division of Labour, Regional Division of Labour, Newly Industrializing countries,
Developing economy

Introduction

The New International Division of Labor and the emerging Regional Division of Labor (between the Newly
Industrializing Countries and the low income Third World nations) have influenced the growth and development
patterns of industries in Third World Countries (Dicken, 1986, 1992, 1998; Drakakis-Smith, 1987; Dixon and
Drakakis-Smith, 1993, 1995, 1997; Scott, 1988). The New International Division of Labor can be termed as the
gradual incorporation of Third World Labor (since the late 1960’s and early 1970’s) in the world economic system
(Frobel, et. al., 1980). Over the 1970’s, as the long postwar boom came to an end, the major capitalist economies of
North America and Western Europe entered into a long period of crisis and readjustment. Intensified competition
from Japan, runaway inflation, combined with high rates of unemployment and falling industrial productivity, added
to the difficulties of the major capitalist economies (Scott, 1988). In Europe, the workers had become more
organized, less docile, less cheap and less welcome to the employers as the global recession began to take effect. As
a result, more and more of the traditional basic industries of the core regions – industries such as textiles, clothing,
steel, shipbuilding, car assembly, machinery, electrical goods, and so on, were now moving at an alarming rate out
to the world periphery in order to take advantage of its increasingly attractive production conditions. Many
European and North American companies began to shift their points of production into the cities of the Third World,
where cheap labor still existed and could be guaranteed by authoritarian governments reliant on the West for
political support. This trend, which is still going on, has come to be known as the New International Division of
Labor, or NIDL for short (Hasan, 1998, 1999a, 1999b).

One of the reasons why this production has now shifted to the Third World Countries is the rise of financial capital
which comprises investment funds that have been accumulated in the big banks, and insurance companies of the
West (Drakakis-Smith, 1987). The costs of production have risen in Europe and North America not only for wages,
but for rents and raw material imports too. Labor is cheap in the Third World cities as a result of accelerating rural-
urban migration and the presence of a large informal sector, a reserve army of labor which helps to keep down the
demand for wage rises (Dixon, 1991, Hasan, 1991a). Recent advancements in technology have enabled a
fragmentation of the production process from management. The advent of information technology, satellite links and
containerization have made it possible for the labor intensive parts of the production process to be located in Third
World Nations, whilst retaining specialized management, research and development in the Western Countries
(Dicken, 1998, Hasan, 1999b). This entire process has been encouraged by international agencies and national
governments, all anxious to bring employment to the burgeoning cities of the Third World, in order to forestall
possible political instability (Drakakis–Smith, 1987).

The impact of these changes on the cities and regions of developing countries has been varied and complex
(Drakakis-Smith, 1987; Dixon and Drakakis-Smith, 1997). One important thing to notice here is that such changes
are extremely selective; so that some six or seven countries, such as South Korea or Taiwan, can be said to have
rapidly expanded their industrial economy. To a considerable extent, such changes relate to the spreading of export
oriented manufacturing and associated investments which has been largely based on the relocation of labor intensive
manufacturing processes from Japan to the Asian Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs) (Dixon and Drakakis-
Smith, 1997).

As labor costs rise in these locations, multinational corporations are looking further afield for new supplies of cheap
labor. Presently there is an increasing trend of industrial relocation of labor intensive manufacturing activities from
the Asian NICs to the low labor cost countries of South and South East Asia. This implies the emergence of a
Regional Division of Labor between the NICs and the low labor cost South and South East Asian countries (Dixon
and Drakakis-Smith, 1993, 1995, 1997). Some developing countries from South and South East Asia have gradually
been transformed into exporters of labour-intensive manufactured products, and have attracted a number of foreign
companies to invest in their territory (Dicken, 1992, 1998; Todaro, 1994, 1997; Hasan, 1998)

However, the Government and the entrepreneurs of these countries are facing tougher challenges provided by the
changing economic circumstances of the last ten years, such as a more difficult global trading environment and
increasing competition from other lower cost producers including some of the ex-socialist states (Van Grunsven,
1995). Moreover, these countries have some inherent limitations such as technological backwardness, unfavorable
terms of trade, poor infrastructure, a lack of skilled manpower, limited resources, and an undeveloped investment
environment. They also face increasing protectionism from the developed countries (Hasan, 1998). Developing
countries are now experiencing a number of constraints in upgrading their economies, and as such towards
integrating with the global economic system.

Methodology
This paper is a kind of literature review from different published and unpublished sources. However, the doctoral
dissertation of the first author and two of his subsequent publications were important materials for this paper. The
World Bank Publications such as World Development Report was consulted. Contemporary articles from journals
and books were also used for this paper. And finally, conclusions were drawn on the basis of the literature review,
judgement and rationale of the authors. In the following sections, first the major bottlenecks of the developing
nations are discussed, thereafter their potential is talked briefly and then conclusions are drawn.

Undeveloped and Uncertain Investment Environment

Most areas of economic activity in the developing countries operate in an uncertain and undeveloped investment
environment, as there is the lack of statistical data, information, capital and support services. Many of these
developing countries have very poorly developed infrastructure and utility supply system, and often these countries
lack dynamic entrepreneurship and motivated managerial skills. Infrastructure and transport system such as
telecommunications services, electricity, water supply, railways, different public and private transport systems are
either poorly developed, overburdened or functionally inefficient. There often remains a great lag in up-to-date
telecommunications and information technology facilities within and between these countries (Hasan, 1998).
Limited access to banks and formal lending agencies, is a barrier for the entrepreneurs of these countries in terms of
financing their project. Often loans are sanctioned to vested interest groups, while prospective entrepreneurs are
denied access to formal financing. In many cases, they have to arrange funds from relatives, families, and through
informal borrowing (Khan, 1987). International private borrowing is also severely restricted to many of these
nations. The capital cost of machinery are generally high in local currencies, especially if imported, whilst demand
in both domestic and international markets may be modest or unpredictable. There exist a number of formalities and
red tapes for setting up firms. A further limitation is the considerable cost and time involved in obtaining licenses,
loans, and permits (Payne, 1989). Bureaucracy and delays in different transactions are very common, while rent
seeking and corruption are rampant in most of the developing nations (Auty, 1995).

Unfavourable Terms of Trade

Failures of most of the developing economies, except from the newly industrialized countries, to generate adequate
purchasing power in their domestic market led them to look for purchasing power outside the national boundaries,
and pursue the exported growth strategy. The bulk of the exports from the developing countries, however, still
comprise of primary commodities, and historically, world prices of primary commodities have been volatile,
unstable and less rewarding. Moreover, these countries often suffer from adverse terms of trade. As a result, trade
has been neither a source of resource flow nor an engine of growth for these countries. To its stark contrast, with an
overwhelming share of manufacturing in the global export trade, the success of the export-led development strategy
of the newly industrializing countries, led to the development of their vibrant manufacturing sector (GOB, 1988).

Small Size of Domestic Market


The domestic markets of many developing nations are very small. Low-per capita income and lower purchasing
power of the people also inhibit their growth. These economies often shrink, when they devaluate their currency,
and during catastrophic financial crises, the economy of these countries can plummet very fast. The economy of
Thailand reduced to one third of its original size during South East Asian Flue. During the Ruble Crisis in Russia in
1998, the economy of the country reduced to the stock market value of Sainsbusy chain store of UK. Smaller size
of economy and lower purchasing power result in a low rate of savings, unemployment, lower dissemination of
technology, poverty and high dependence on foreign aids. Because of small size of domestic market, domestic
competition and the diffusion of technology in these countries often falter greatly. Limited size of markets and little
regional competition also hinder the pace of innovation in these nations. A study of some successful industrialized
countries (such as Japan, Korea, Singapore, and the United States) by Porter (1990) found that large internal market
and domestic competition were a key to their global success (Porter, 1990).

Lack of Skilled Manpower


Most of the developing countries have a large number of populations, but many of them are illiterate, and or
unskilled. Limited opportunities for skill development is another impediment to industrial growth of these countries.
Often these countries’ education system is biased towards producing beauracrats, which are not really tailored to the
needs of firms and industries. Newly industrializing Asian countries were successful in raising the quality of the
labor force through human resources development programs, at pace with the expansion of job opportunities, and in
concert with changes in the industrial structure of their economies. They thereby avoided creating a labor force
whose training and skills were inappropriate to economic conditions or generating a large group of educated
unemployed – problems that plagued many low-income countries in the developing region (Rondinelli and Kasarda,
1993).

Limited Access to Technology


Technology is the knowledge that leads to improved machinery, products, and processes. In addition to this,
technological knowledge and know-how reduce the real cost of production and lead to the introduction of new
products. Technology also includes the knowledge embodied in management know how. Integration with the global
economic system affects the technological change in two ways. First, it improves the supply of new technology.
Second, it raises the demand for new technology. Technology is embodied in imported inputs and capital goods,
sold directly through licensing agreements, and transmitted through direct foreign investment, labor movements, or
contacts with foreign buyers. In all these ways openness increases the supply of new products and process.
Technology is also embodied in many kinds of imported inputs ranging from capital equipment and turnkey plants
to sophisticated components for electronic assembly. Technology transfer can occur through exporting of goods and
commodities from developing countries. Exposure to international markets keeps exporters informed of new
products, foreign buyers, and are important sources of information that can be used to upgrade technology (World
Bank, 1991).

Developing countries rely intensively on imports of embodied technology. Moreover, they have to buy technology at
a high price, either through direct purchase, or through patent, licensing, and royalty payments. These countries are
often forced to buy obsolete, outdated, or inappropriate technology from the developed nations. Concerns about the
monopoly power of technology supplies led many developing countries to control the flow of disembodied
technology and restrict royalty payments in the 1960s and 1970s. Restrictive policies on technology imports in some
countries such as Brazil, China and India have frequently led to intensive scientific activity that could have been
accelerate through greater use of established technologies developed abroad. One of the clearest lessons of Japanese
and East Asian experience is the value of a strategy of importing, and building on established technology from
abroad. Countries, which rely on imported technology, have generally made very strong internal efforts to diffuse
and develop technology. The ability to select, diffuse, and build on imported technology - sometimes referred to as
technological capability is also determined by policy interventions in several areas of these nations (World Bank,
1991).

Barrier from the Developed Countries


Regulations of the developed countries such as licensing restrictions, limiting entry, pricing policies, travel
restrictions, labor laws regulating entry and exit of workers, in addition to tariffs and non-tariff barriers, often
discourage technology diffusion to the developing world. Strict norms, standards, testing, and quality control also
prevent products from the developing countries to enter industrialized nations. Intellectual property right such as
increased patents on products and processes have been perceived by the developing countries as barriers to upgrade
their economies. Foreign companies are often found to be benefiting from these restrictions rather than the local
firms. In recent times, Monsanto Corporation, one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies, have developed
genetically engineering seeds which will become infertile after one cropping season. Such sophisticated intellectual
property right like gene technology “Can be brilliant for marketing perspective” says biotech critic Jermy Rifkins,
but “From a social perspective, it is pathological. This is a question of who controls the seed of life.” (Kluger,
1999).

Governments in developing countries often spend a large share of the resources available for technology transfer on
national research and development institutions. In many cases, as in India and Thailand, they have had little effect.
Particularly in low-income countries, a large share of research and development could better used to assimilate and
monitor technology already developed abroad (World Bank, 1991).

Labor Movement
Migration, transfer of skilled personnel, and returning workers from abroad all contribute to the diffusion of
technology. Labor mobility provides other benefits apart from technology embodied in migrating workers. It is
another avenue for reducing disparity in incomes worldwide. One cost, however, is the loss of skilled and highly
trained people emigrating to industrial countries - the brain drain. In Bangladesh, the share of professionals
emigrating abroad is so large that it is believed to have contributed to shortages in some professional categories. Net
remittances from migrants in UK, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and some other countries are often high. Migrants send
back from 10 to 50 percent of every dollar earned. In sum, however, the net losses from emigration of skilled
workers are often higher than the remittances. Governments can mitigate these costs by eliminating subsidies to
those who can afford higher education, or to those who are likely to move abroad. Governments can also provide
incentives and job opportunities for the skilled emigrants, especially if they want to return to their home countries
(World Bank, 1991).

Limited Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

The fall in access to commercial bank lending for developing countries has increased the attractiveness of direct
foreign investment. In 1980’s, FDI surpassed all other forms of lending as a source of foreign capital to developing
countries. Although FDI grew at a slower rate than commercial flows, averaging 6 percent annually in real terms
from 1970 to 1989, it fluctuated much less than private flows. Apart from potential gains through technology
transfer, FDI generates employment, accounting for as much as 60 percent of manufacturing employment in some
economies, such as Singapore. In the 1960’s, 1970’s, and 1980’s, foreign direct investment was a major conduit for
know-how between the western world and the newly industrializing countries. Case studies from a number of
countries show that the presence of foreign firms has increased the diffusion of technology and improved the
efficiency of local firms, and in some cases, such as Brazil, a large share of manufactured exports originates from
firms with foreign direct investment. As FDI in industrializing countries continues to shift into services, its favorable
effect on employment is likely to rise (World Bank, 1991).

Prospects for enhanced flows of FDI to developing countries in the 1990s remain uncertain. One-study estimates
that the share of developing countries in global foreign investment flows declined in the 1980s from 26 to 21
percent. In addition, FDI in developing countries is highly concentrated: in the 1980s, fifteen countries attracted 75
percent of all investment (World Bank, 1991). FDI can not be viewed as a substitute for commercial lending or
official flows; it is at best a complement. World Bank has adopted a policy to support the expansion of
infrastructure, health care, and education in the developing countries, which can facilitate FDI. In sum, foreign direct
investment is a potentially important source of capital to supplement domestic investment, technology transfer, and
employment generation in the developing nations. However, despite its significance role for diffusing technology,
foreign direct investment in an economy with highly distorted policies, is likely to generate net losses for the host
country instead of welfare gains.

It seems plausible that a foreign presence could raise the productivity of firms that remain wholly domestically
owned. Because foreign firms already have marketing linkages, know-how, and production experience, some host
economies have actively encouraged global exporters to establish production units in their country. Economies,
which have exploited the linkages of foreign firms with global markets, include Malta, Mauritius, and Singapore.
Host countries can maximize potential gains from FDI with evenly enforced investment codes, a low level of
protection, and a minimal reliance on income tax breaks or credit subsidies to foreign firms. To reduce the
possibility that multinationals could exploit their advantages in information, and charge higher prices, host countries
can encourage competition between foreign firms and avoid granting exclusive privileges to any one foreign
investor. It is better for local and foreign firms to face equal tax policies: a lower uniform tax rate is preferable to a
schedule that discriminates for or against multinationals.

Potential for the Developing Countries


Despite the above drawbacks, the developing countries have enormous hidden potential for integrating their
economies with the global economic system. Countries like Malaysia and India are utilizing these potentials in this
connection. Information technology is the key sector in this regard, where the developing countries can invest on
without any hesitation. With the improvement of telecommunication and availability of adequate logistics, a skilled
manpower can process data or develop software from anywhere in the world. The phenomenon of the emergence of
silicon valley in the first world is now taking place in the Third World. India has developed and upgraded cities like
Bangalore and Hyderabad as silicon valleys of the east. The country’s export volume of software was 400 million
US$ in the last year, and this is expanding at a phenomenal rate. Following the example of India, countries like
Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal can take necessary steps to develop skills in the information technology sector.

With the increase of affluence, the people of the industrialized countries are now traveling a lot. They are visiting
exotic places of the world for leisure, pleasure and for fun. Tourism is now a global business, and any developing
country can participate in this expanding trade. The developing countries having natural scenic beauty, beautiful
landscape and cultural heritage can easily transform the resources into tourist attraction points. Malaysia took a
strong and sustainable strategy to upgrade its tourism industry. A number of hotels, motels, tourist resorts were built,
heritage sites were renovated, infrastructure, transport and communication facilities were developed all over the
country. Consequently tourism boomed in Malaysia, and tourism industry in Malaysia is the 4th largest export
earner only after Electronics, Crude Oil, and Palm Oil. The number of international tourists arriving per year in
Malaysia is also increasing, which is around 7 million per year. Malaysia also improved and upgraded its electronics
industry, which is now the number one export earning sector surpassing comparative advantage primary
commodities like palm oil, tin, teak and rubber. Like Malaysia, India is gradually developing its tourism sector. At
present around 2 million international tourists visit India annually. Following the footsteps of India and Malaysia,
other low-income Third World countries can attain considerable success in upgrading their economies.
Conclusion
In an era of globalization, when technology and information embedded in products, components, and software can
move relatively easily to any parts of the world, it seems apparent that the developing nations would be able to take
all these advantages. The newly industrializing countries such as South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, Mexico, Hong Kong
and Singapore have already upgraded their economic base and are proceeding to join in the ranks of developed
economies. A number of proto-NICs have emerged, and they are in the pursuit of economic and industrial success.
For example, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and China are thriving fast, and they are industrializing rapidly with
growth rates higher than 5 percent per annum.

However, with increasing competition between nations, worldwide recession and financial crisis, gradual abolition
of tariff and non-tariff barriers, the low-income developing countries find themselves in an awakened position. They
often find it more difficult to sustain their existing industrial base, sometimes preventing it from downgrading.
Michale
Porter, in his book “The Competitive Advantage of Nations” wrote about the superiority and advantages of
industrialized countries, and for the developing nations, he only mentioned of their low cost labour and different
trade incentives. Are there any more comparative advantages for these developing nations, which can be furthered
and upgraded to help these economies integrate with the global economic system?

Regional blocks have been developed in different parts of the world, but in most cases, these have strengthened the
position of the developed economies. The formation of the European Union in 1992, has removed the barrier of free
flow of people and materials within Europe, and made it one of the strongest economic powers of the world. North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has also fortified the position of the USA and Canada as the most
powerful economic group in the global economic system. However, the formation of SAARC (South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation) in the Indian Sub-Continent has very little effect on the economic
development of its member countries.

In a globalized world, when the flow of people and materials have become easier, often the flow is in a one-way
direction. People of the industrialized nations can easily travel to any parts of the world, while the movement of the
people of the Third world is very much restricted. Similarly, a non-tariff barrier such as stringent specifications or
standards is a great barrier for the products of the developing world to penetrate the Western Market. Michael P.
Todaro (1997), in his stimulating book “Economic Development”, mentioned that in recent times, many
industrialized countries have increased their non-tariff barriers.

In conclusion, we have very little to say. Warren Buffet, the great American entrepreneur and financial guru, said in
one of his speeches “It is better to build the ark rather to wait for the rain to stop.” We cannot expect that global
competition and worldwide recession will ease in the coming years. So, it is better for the developing countries to
upgrade their infrastructure and information technology base, develop the skills, and concentrate on developing
knowledge intensive, and high value added products, and to make them prepared for the informational age.

References

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Plan Plus Volume 1 No 1 2001 pp.

USE OF SATELLITE DATA TO ESTIMATE RAINFALL OVER BANGLADESH

C.M.Mukammel Wahid and Md.Nazrul Islam


Department of Physics
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology

Abstract

We calculated Fractional Cloud Coverage (FCC) over Bangladesh using three hourly IR data
from Japanese Metrological Satellite (GMS-5) for spatial resolutions of 0.50 mesh. Then rainfall
was calculated from Satellite data. There was an increase in rainfall as one moved from north to
south. As was found the rainfall rate was higher at Sylhet than any other part of the country. Sea
and offshore areas received almost uniform rainfall compared to land areas where rain
fluctuations occurred with little horizontal distance. Daily rainfall amount calculated by satellite
for Sylhet was compared with the same calculated by raingauge. For Sylhet, satellite calculated
1.93x1012 kg from June-July 1996 while raingauge calculated 1.73x1012 kg.

Key Words:

Introduction

It is very important to know about the actual precipitation because they play an important role in our
economical and social life. The knowledge of the actual precipitation averaged over large areas is of
potentially great importance for both numerical weather prediction and simulations of the climate using
general circulation models (Arkin and Meissner, 1987); also crop assessment and large basin flood
forecasting can easily envisioned. Flood is a common phenomenon in Bangladesh. In an average year
about one-fifth of the country get flooded (Rahman et al. 1997). So estimation of precipitation may play an
important role in flood forecasting. It is known that mean rainfall over Bangladesh ranges from about 1400
mm in dry Rajshahi area to over 5000 mm in Sylhet region and Cox’s Bazar. Mean monthly rainfall over the
country ranges from 300-800 mm in June and from 350-800 mm in July. The rainfall over Bangladesh
changes from west to east (Islam, 1991).
Precipitation falling from the mesoscale convective system, typical of the monsoon region is very important
for flood prediction. We may measure rainfall by a raingauge but raingauges provide the best available
estimates of precipitation at any given point (Arkin, 1987). However, a dense network of raingauges is
required to produce accurate estimates of precipitation, which is impossible over ocean and inaccessible
areas. Also we may estimate rainfall using suitable calibrated digital radars (Hodlow and Patterson, 1979).
However radar ranges are rather small (100-500 km approximately) and its deployment is impracticable
over the ocean. It also would be very expensive to have a large radar network on land. Because of the lack
of conventional cloud and precipitation observations over the ocean and remote areas, the use of satellite
is obviously desirable. Satellite provides data round the clock and they can monitor very large areas. Only
three satellites are required to monitor the whole world. Therefore, metrological satellite data are the only
realistic means to monitor the spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation. Satellite data become useful
when averaged over large space and or time scales and then only when carefully calibrated for the region
and monsoon in question (Petty et al. 1996).
In this paper we calculated Fractional Cloud Coverage and estimated rainfall amount using satellite data
from over Bangladesh for spatial resolutions of 0.50 x 0.50. Rainfall estimated by satellite was calibrated
with raingauge rainfall for Sylhet.

Data and procedure

Three hourly satellite infrared (IR) data, provided by the Institute of Flood Control and Drainage Research
(IFCDR), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, from the Japanese Geo-
stationary Meteorological Satellite (GMS-5) was used in this study. We also used hourly rainfall data from 9
automatic digital raingauge stations at Sylhet for the period 1995-1996 installed by IFCDR, BUET. The
analysis area and the locations of raingauges in Sylhet are shown in Fig.1.
Three hourly digital IR data from GMS-5 for the monsoon months June and July 1996 were analyzed in this
study. Digital data from GMS-5 consist of IR counts of pixels which has 800 x 8000. The data value of each
pixel is read and converted into its corresponding cloud top temperature (TBB) by a lookup table prepared
by the Japan Meteorological Department.
Our study area extends from 200N-270N and 880E-930E covering whole Bangladesh and some portion of
the Bay of Bengal and India. The whole area was divided into 0.50 x 0.50 grid cells. Each cell contains 30
pixels, while each pixel was 11 km x 9 km.
At first we determined whether a pixel is cloudy or clear using a threshold TBB. To do this the target pixel is
located (Fig. 2) and the IR temperature of this pixel and four adjacent pixels are read, if the temperature of
the pixels are colder than 253K (Alder and Negri, 1988) then the pixels was cloudy. The threshold so
chosen to include all kind of precipitating clouds. The operation is repeated for the 8 images of the day.
The Fractional Cloud Coverage (FCC) was calculated for each 0.50 x 0.50 grid cells. The FCC from the 8
images of the day was added to get the accumulated FCC for the whole day. FCC was defined as for each
0.50 x 0.50 grid cells covered by clouds whose cloud top temperatures were colder than 253K. According to
the definition.

Total number of cloudy pixels


FCC = --------------------------------------------------------------------- (1)
Total pixels

Where FCC is the Fractional Cloud Coverage.


FCC was multiplied then to get the rainfall from satellite according to the definition,
Satellite rainfall = FCC X C X t ----------------------------------------- (2)

Where ‘C’ is a constant and ‘t’ is the length of averaging period in hour. The value of ‘C’ is related to rain
rate and was taken as 3 mm/h as by Arkin and Meissner (1987).
Rainfall amount was calculated for both satellite and raingauges by multiplying the area that received the
rainfall with the rain rate.

Results and discussions

Fractional Cloud Coverage


Fig. 3 shows the daily average FCC for the month of June and July 1996. FCC was calculated for a grid cell
of 0.50 x 0.50 latitude/longitude area. The minimum and maximum FCC were 0.22 and 0.46 respectively.
The area over which maximum FCC was located at 230N – 250N, and 880E - 900E. The minimum FCC area
was located at 91.50E, 26.50n. There was generally an increase in cloud coverage as one moved from east
to west. Though there was less cloud coverage over Sylhet region (910E – 92.50E. 240N – 250n) than the
western part of the country, actually there was more rainfall over Sylhet than in the western part of the
country. So the rainfall rate is higher at Sylhet than any other part of the country. It is clear that although the
FCC varied from region to region, the 1996 monsoon (June – July) cloud coverage had small spatial
differences.

Satellite rainfall
Fig. 4 shows the daily average satellite rainfall amount over Bangladesh for a 0.50 mesh for the month of
June – July 1996. Fig. 4 also shows that there was more rainfall over the western and southern part of the
country. There were some closely spaced contour represents that there was large variation in rainfall
amount within small horizontal extent.

Calibration of Satellite rainfall


Fig. 5 shows the comparison between the rainfall amount derived from raingauge and satellite over Sylhet
in 1996. iN general there was a good agreement between the patterns of rainfall obtained by satellite and
that obtained by raingauge. The peaks for both satellite and raingauge derivations coincided each other.
The daily average rainfall amounts estimated from satellite and raingauges were 1.93 x 1012 kg and 1.73 x
1012 kg respectively. The total amount of rainfall estimated by satellite and raingauge in June and July 1996
were 117.66 x 1012 kg and 105.41 x 1012 kg respectively. So satellite can estimate rainfall amount
successfully.

Conclusion
Fractional Cloud Coverage (FCC) and rainfall amount were calculated over Bangladesh using three hourly
IR data from GMS-5. There was an increase in rainfall as one moved from north to south. Sea and offshore
areas received almost uniform rainfall compared to land areas where rain fluctuations occurred with little
horizontal distance. As was found satellite and raingauge calculated rainfall 1.93 x 1012 kg/day and 1.73 x
1012 kg/day respectively for Sylhet for June – July 1996. From this very comparable result we may conclude
that satellite can fairly estimate rainfall for Sylhet.

Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank Dr. Rezaur Rahman, IFCDR, BUET for providing data and to encourage
during this work.

References

Adler, R.F. and Negri, A.J. 1988, “A satellite infrared technique to estimate tropical convective and
stratiform rainfall”, J. Appl. Meteoro., 27, 30-51.
Arkin, P.A. and Meissner, B.N. 1987, “The relationship between large-scale convective rainfall and cold
cloud over the Western Hemisphere during 1982-1984”, Mon. Weath. Rev., 115, 51-74.
Rahman, R., Islam , M.N. and Alam, S., 1997, “Application of remote sensing technology to rainfall
forecasting”’ Final Report, Japan Bangladesh Joint Study Project, BUET, Dhaka.
Islam, M.N., 1991, “Prediction models for drought and different meteorological variables in Bangladesh”,
M.Sc. Thesis, Department of Physics, Dhaka University.
Hudlow, M.D., 1979, “Mean rainfall pattern for the phases of GATE”, J. Appl. Meteoro.,18, 1656-1669.
Petty, G.W., and Krajewski, W.F., 1996, “Satellite Estimation of Precipitation over land”’ Hydrological
Sciences Journal, 41, 4.

Figure Caption

Fig.1. Analysis area and locations of raingauges in Sylhet.


Fig.2. Grid resolution to analyze GMS-5 data. Shaded pixel (11 km x 9km) represents the target cell.
Fig.3. Daily average Fractional Cloud Coverage for 0.50 mesh from June – July 1996. Contours are at 0.02
interval.
Fig.4. Daily average rainfall amount (106 kg) from June – July 1996. Contours are at 200(106 kg) interval.
Fig.5. Daily rainfall amount calculated by satellite and raingauge.

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