Mar 9, 2011

Brain Drain

I think its fair hour that we contextualize 'Brain Drain'. Its no longer just the fleeing masses who just happen to like 'A Good Life'! The threat now lives among us. This metaphorical drain is draining and its visible in the clogged streets and the clogged physical drains and the dark waters of the Buriganga! We could all write books and books on titles like "Nonchalancy" or "Guide to Self Aggrandizement at the Cost of your Neighbor" and that's the result of our education system and society at large.

To prevent this drain, read more books than the doctor prescribes, and think before you do anything. Sitting silent in a room and breathing deeply is also recommended. Listen to rock music. Oh, and heres a concept - "Decency"!


Democracy?

This -cracy continues to allude and make people -crazy (not the lunatic kind)! Come election time, people usually head back to their mindset of 'I must pick the winning side'. Its all a game, and all it ever was, like betting on a winning horse! The horses dress up nice just before the race and its really tired and wants to sit back and be fed carrots and get manicures after its won. No shit!

I know coups are illegal, but what if the military had the obligation to run in an election? Then, if a mass is really tired of a "Merry-Go-Round" of political choices that are not really comfortable or fun, or they don't want the ACC being neutered, they could opt to go on a Paintball shootout instead!

To get more out of democracy, remember:
- You don't have to win. "Winning" could very well mean "Losing"!
- Be not afraid to post a ballot in the name of someone who you've never given a chance (that should rule out a least a couple of parties and parties 'friendly' with those couple of parties).

Related:
The Decency Project
What is Self Agrandizement?
Evergreen Democracy

Posted on Wednesday, March 09, 2011

1 comment

Mar 1, 2011

Firstly, I am here to discuss the issue of mobility, and not a revolution or politics. Just in case ...

Dhaka's population is now at a very bad size. I don't know the number exact number, but the effect of it is not invisible. The government is taking and pondering drastic and desperate steps, such as not approving any more power lines for new apartments or houses, or gas lines (which would be used for cooking), where as there are many people moving into this city and waiting to move into their new apartments or houses. Construction work all over the city is rampant, since that demand is ever increasing with the movement of people into Dhaka. The roads, transport systems are all insufficient at the moment to support this many people.

Long term plans to avoid a deadlock situation someday in this city is however not clear to me. My feeling is that "labor mobility" could be one answer. Dhaka, as the capital, has justly become the place for commercial enterprise, education, entertainment, etc., and also has the largest international airport.

So far as I can see, any suggestion for industries to move out of Dhaka has meant to move to Gazipur or Ashulia, somewhere adjacent, and not really going that far out of Dhaka. As things are going, those places could one day be part of Dhaka City. I think the government should take a more active effort to develop other parts of the country to specifically serve one or two industries and improve communication to those parts with major cities such as Chittagong and Dhaka.

From the top of my head, two industries come to mind -
1. Education (Honors and higher), and
2. IT

Both these industries could be lured in with simple incentives. The government could scope out land that would be suitable for universities and keep them priced low, provided, that a university will be set up with the proper measures. The land's development could also be controlled by dictating what amount of land goes into playing fields (considering university level development of future athletes, footblallers and cricketers?) and parks, and what into buildings for classrooms, offices and lodgings. This should be accompanied by a ban on further development of universities in the cities of Dhaka and Chittagong. The capital possessed by anyone preparing to invest to build universities in Dhaka should be more than enough to carry on with the phased development of universities elsewhere. Research in those universities should be directed around potential sectors of its locale.

For IT companies, in this day and age, deliverable items are most likely transferrable online. Technology companies need good infrastructure, and the prime one is good connectivity. The government should consider building up a massive region with proper ground up planning of infrastructure considering consistent power and connectivity. Silicon Valley might have gotten its reputation as a place for technology companies by natural turn of events, but Malaysia used it as a learning experience and built Cyberjaya and its Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) from it. The government actively pursued companies to be part of it, and also universities who specialize in technology to go there and set up. Its a beautiful place, with the proper infrastructure, with everything people need in proximity. Being in the IT industry myself, I am pleased just imagining myself living and working somewhere from where Cox's Bazaar is an hour or hour and a half's drive and all the roads to there and Chittagong or Dhaka are so well made and well kept that the drive back to my hometown of Dhaka is a breeze and even enjoyable! If anyone wouldn't be pleased by the thought of that, then I don't know what! I have seen many signs of "IT Park" or something close to that in the city, where its really just one building! I think if we had a whole expanse of land where office buildings (already constructed) or land (for those with the capital to construct their own) was offered up by the government for a real and true "IT Park", it would have to be something like Cyberjaya, possibly scaled down in different aspects.

We obviously have lots of construction companies working in Dhaka now, and an undertakings such as these could utilize a lot of their expertise, and related industries would also flourish in making this a reality. Once complete, other business opportunities would naturally open up around these areas to support both the companies and the population that reside there.

Posted on Tuesday, March 01, 2011

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