17-11-2021

WEDNESDAY, NOvEMBER 17, 2021
4
The clock is ticking on Netanyahu's political life
Acting Editor & Publisher : Jobaer Alam
e-mail: editor@thebangladeshtoday.com
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Management of
public parks and
recreational facilities
In big cities, most people now live in "jungles of concrete".
Whenever they have time, they visit a nearby park or an open
space for relaxation, recreation, exercise or picnic. All big
cities around the world have built beautiful parks, gardens and
large green spaces for such purposes. Who is not charmed or
moved by the splendor, serenity and beauty of the Stanley Park in
Vancouver, the Central Park of New York City, the Donoupark in
Vienna, the Regent Park in London, to name a few?
Most parks in Europe and North America contain lakes, ponds,
lush green lawns, seasonal flowers, manicured bushes and
shrubs, ornamental plants, varieties of trees, local flora and fauna,
fountains, sculptures, museums, amphitheatres, gymnasiums,
playgrounds, picnic spots etc. They are maintained with great care
and professionalism. The visitors also take care not to litter
around the parks or to destroy any of the ornamental plants or
objects.
These parks are normally maintained by specialized
organizations.Greater London has eight parks, officially called the
Royal Parks, which are managed by the Royal Park Agency. The
Department of Parks & Recreation of the City of New York is
responsible for the maintenance of the city's parks system, for
preserving the ecological diversity of the natural areas and for
providing recreational facilities for the residents and visitors. The
National Mall of Washington, DC, is managed by the National
Park Service (NPS).The Vancouver Park Board is responsible for
the management of more than 230 public parks in Vancouver
including the Stanley Park. It also controls a large public
recreation system of community centres, pools, gymnasiums, golf
courses, playgrounds, marinas etc.
These are only a few examples of management of public parks
and recreational facilities in some selected cities. The situation is
completely different in the city of Dhaka. Even though the city has
several parks and open spaces, including some historic ones, most
of them suffer from poor maintenance, neglect or encroachment
by unauthorizedpersons/bodies.
The Ramna Park is the largest and the oldest park in Dhaka.
Originally built during the Mughal period,it underwent several
renovationsat different times. Many government buildings,
hospitals, private clubs, a hotel, a children's parkhave been built
in the area. At present the park occupies only 68.5 acres. Although
it is a public park, numerous health clubs in different names have
occupied several spots inside it. This is one from of encroachment
and the clubs use these spots like private properties.
The Suhrawardy Udyan was originally a part of the Ramna
Park. It was formerly known as the Ramna Race Course. Many
historic events took place here. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman delivered his famous speech of March 7, 1971 in this
Udyan. The Pakistan army surrendered to the joint command of
the Mukti Bahini and the Indian army on December 16, 1971 in
the same area.ASwadhinataStambha (Independence Monument)
with an eternal flame has been built inside the Udyan. The area
now suffers from poor maintenance and has become a den for
drugs and other unsocial activities.Both the Ramna Park and the
Suhrawardy Udyan are maintained by the Public Works
Department (PWD). The Bahadur Shah Park, formerly known as
the Victoria Park, in Sadarghat is also very poorly maintained.
There are some new parks, lakes, open areas and playgrounds
in the residential areas like Dhanmandi, Gulshan, Baridhara and
Uttara.Unable to maintain properly, the Rajukallowed some local
societies to manage the parks and the lake sides. The local
societies while maintaining the parks often treat them as their
private properties and restrict the entry of the public at certain
times.
The playgrounds are similarly controlled by some local clubs,
often without authority. They restrict their uses to their members
only and charge a large sum of money as membership fees. They
earn huge revenue by renting out the playgrounds for sports and
other events to schools and outside organizations. Even
individual players or teams are charged for practicing in the
playgrounds. Nobody knows how the earned money is spent.
Several public open areas for recreation have been occupied by
vested quarters in different parts of the city.
Recentlyanother beautiful tourist attraction, namely the
HatirJheel, was opened to the public though not yet fully
complete. This area, when completed, will change the landscape
of Dhaka. If not properly maintained, its open areas will soon be
occupied by street vendors and the lakes will face the same
pathetic fate like those of Dhanmandi or Gulshan. It is time to
plan for its proper maintenance so that it remains a major
landmark and tourist attraction of the city.
As mentioned above, most of the parks, the playgrounds and
open spaces have turned into private properties, partly or
wholly.There have been huge public outcries against such
unauthorized encroachment but no serious attempt was made to
regain control of the encroached areas by the authorized bodies.
If the present situation is allowed to continue, very soon there will
be no open space left for the public in the city of Dhaka.
To remedy the situation, we should follow the system of
management practiced in London, New York or Vancouver. The
government should form a fully autonomous body, which may be
called Dhaka Public Parks & Recreation Authority, and make it
responsible for the maintenance of all the public parks, open
spaces, lakes, the HatirJheel, and theplaygrounds including the
stadiums and swimming pools within greater Dhaka. The
Authority will take full control of the public parks and other places
from the private clubs and illegalpossessions. It will renovate and
beautify them and maintain them like the parks and recreational
facilitiesinEurope and North America by employing properly
qualified and trained professionals. Last but not the least, these
facilities must be open to the public to whom they belong.
The political life of Israel's former
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu should by now have
been confined to history. But desperately,
pathetically, and somewhat halfheartedly,
he is still clinging to the faint
hope of returning to the job he held for
over 12 years.
Last week's passing of a two-year
Budget Bill delivered a further body blow
to that glimmer of hope, and made
another return to the coveted job no more
than a distant possibility - although it
doesn't mean that he can't continue to
inflict damage on Israel's democracy and
society as he is dragged kicking and
screaming out of politics.
This was the first time a national budget
had been passed in the Knesset since
2018, after a three-day marathon and a
staggering 780 votes. In the intricacies of
Israeli politics the budget bill is usually an
opportunity for the opposition to question
not only the government's ideological
direction, but also its stamina and staying
power. The current government, led by
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, is a most
unlikely coalition of eight parties that
enjoys the slimmest possible 61-59
majority and has little or no ideological
commonality or coherence.
Its existence must therefore be regarded
as nothing short of a small, or rather not
that small, miracle. There is a reason for
that, and the reason is called Netanyahu.
What keeps it together is the deep concern
that the former prime minister, who leads
the opposition, will somehow make good
on the promise he made on the day the
present government was sworn in - that
he would be back. With that promise he
became the glue that keeps this
government together.
To Netanyahu's surprise, and that of
many others, the government is
functioning better than expected and has
found a way to avoid the landmines
scattered all over Israel's political arena.
As long as Netanyahu is still around, the
members of this coalition have an interest
in overcoming their differences, despite
the constant need to paper over these
disagreements without resolving them.
Since a budget bill in the case of Israel
constitutes a vote of confidence in the
government, and satisfying all factions
within the coalition requires a
masterwork of political maneuvering, its
passing last week is an indication of the
administration's resilience, at least for
now, and a sign that Israel has truly
entered the post-Netanyahu era.
Netanyahu is in the twilight of his
YOSSI MEKELBERG
political career, while at the same time he
struggles to avoid conviction and possible
imprisonment as a result of his corruption
trial. At the end of the day, Netanyahu
had little interest in the issue of the
budget, which is an essential tool of good
governance, but was more concerned with
unsettling the government. In his world,
everything revolves around him, and the
current coalition was formed by Bennett's
deception of his supporters, who -
according to the defendant in three cases
of fraud, bribery and breach of trust -
voted for the current prime minister
believing that he would form a coalition
with Netanyahu.
In reality, Netanyahu abused his
position for years by avoiding passing a
budget bill, as it gave him controlling
power and created a dependency on him
among his coalition partners. Netanyahu,
with his vast experience in manipulating
the political system to prolong his time in
power, understands perhaps more than
anyone that being away from power, and
especially not being in charge of the
K J NOh AND MIChAEL WONG
budget, weakens his position, and the
longer he is away from the country's
steering wheel the more this state of
affairs is normalized.
Netanyahu is in the twilight of his
political career, while at the same time he
struggles to avoid conviction and possible
imprisonment as a result of his corruption
trial. His mannerisms are becoming
pitiful, though it is hard to feel pity for
someone who has constantly attempted to
undermine the very foundations of Israel's
fragile and ailing democracy. He insists on
still being called prime minister, although
unlike in the US, in Israel former prime
ministers or holders of any other high
office do not keep their title when they
leave their job. He viciouslyincites against
a democratically elected government that
enjoys the support of the Knesset, and
constantlyquestions of its legitimacy,
similar to the way in which he attacked the
subsequently assassinated Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin - whose only "crime" was to
embark on the path of peace with the
Palestinians. Moreover, despite five years
of meticulous police investigations into
Netanyahu's activities, which were
painstakingly examined by the general
prosecution service before ending in
indictment, he and his political groupies,
who know that without him they have no
future in politics, are hounding those who
are in charge of the country's law
enforcement.
Source: Arab news
The climate crisis is about the Global South's present
COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, was an
event where less than 0.0004
percent of the population met to
negotiate our lives. World leaders,
through their decisions on how to limit
global heating, are the powers deciding
who gets to live and who gets to die.
Keeping temperature rise below 1.5
degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit)
is not negotiable, and yet, we are not on
track to meet it. According to Climate
Action Tracker, even with the targets
pledged during COP26 we will be heading
towards 2.4C (4.3F) of warming.
Amid this, COP26 has been criticised as
the most "exclusionary" summit ever for
civil society organisations, people from
the Global South and those with
disabilities. COP26 Coalition, a UK-based
civil society coalition of environment
NGOs said two-thirds of the people who it
was helping travel to Glasgow were unable
to make it because of visa restrictions,
accreditation problems and COVID-19
vaccine inequity as a result of uneven
access to vaccines. This was especially
harsh on the Global South, with many
people denied a seat at the table. Activists
from the Global South who managed to be
at COP26 despite these hurdles have been
cut out of pictures and excluded by the
media. The exclusion of the Global South
is a common theme in climate
conversations and negotiations.
When we are excluded, our voices are
silenced, our experiences go unheard and
the reality of the climate situation in the
Global South is blurred. This exclusion
becomes a refusal to acknowledge the
China offers solutions to climate change
The Earth's greenhouse-gas (GHG)
concentrations are driving
catastrophic climate change, and
creating an existential threat to the planet.
But there is a way out.Last year, President
Xi Jinping pledged that China's carbondioxide
emissions would peak before
2030, and that the country would become
carbon-neutral before 2060.
China has a history of setting ambitious,
nearly impossible goals and then
achieving them -often before deadline - so
this pledge is significant.
Under the Communist Party of China
(CPC), Beijing has already created an
"economic miracle" in transforming
China into the largest economy in the
world. It ended extreme poverty while
creating the largest middle class in the
world. It has virtually eradicated Covid-19
through non-pharmaceutical methods,
while vaccinating up to 20 million people
daily, and pledging the largest number of
vaccines (2.2 billion) and distributing
more than a billion to the rest of the world.
It has also been applying similar focus
and national resolve to tackle climate
change.
China has the greatest program of
adopting renewable energy of any
Last week's passing of a two-year Budget Bill delivered a further
body blow to that glimmer of hope, and made another return to the
coveted job no more than a distant possibility - although it doesn't
mean that he can't continue to inflict damage on Israel's democracy
and society as he is dragged kicking and screaming out of politics.
proximity of the climate crisis and casts it
as a problem of the future when millions
are dying today. Young people around the
world are anxious about the future, and
rightfully so, but a warped focus on it
suggests that the general populace would
rather care about white children's future
than the Black, Brown and Indigenous
children's present. If this is to continue,
then we have already lost.
In my country, India, the climate crisis
is an unwanted caller that has taken up
space in our homes. She is not scheduled
to arrive at a later date - she is already
here. The world is currently at 1.2C (2.2F)
above preindustrial levels and this is
already brutal for so many people in India.
Less than 50 percent of Indians have
access to safe drinking water. Droughts,
coupled with increasing demand and
terrible groundwater management, make
access to this water even harder. Lack of
safe water means lack of sanitation,
especially during a pandemic. For some
villages, droughts are becoming a way of
life. Some 20 percent of the country faces
drought-like conditions.
Elsewhere, there is extreme rainfall.
country. It generates more renewable
power than North, Central and South
America - 42 countries - combined. It has
more solar parks and wind farms than any
other country. Last year it established
more wind power than the rest of the
world combined.
It has more electric vehicles than any
other country: it operates 420,000
electric buses, 99% of the world's total;
Shenzhen alone has 16,000 e-buses and
22,000 e-taxis. It aims to have 325 million
electric vehicles operating by 2050.
Its high-speed rail network spanning
38,000 kilometers is so extensive and
effective that air travel is starting to
become obsolete. No country has as
dense, large, and efficient system of clean
public transportation and high-speed rail
DIShA A RAvI
Just last month, the southern state of
Kerala experienced flooding and
landslides due to heavy rainfall. This killed
42 people and stranded thousands. In
northern India, heavy rain battered the
state of Uttarakhand, causing flooding
and killing at least 46 people. In my city,
Bengaluru, the airport was flooded due to
unprecedented rains. We in India have
experienced most of the morbid climate
When we are excluded, our voices are silenced, our experiences
go unheard and the reality of the climate situation in
the Global South is blurred. This exclusion becomes a refusal
to acknowledge the proximity of the climate crisis and casts
it as a problem of the future when millions are dying today.
calamities on the menu ranging from
cyclones, floods, and landslides to
heatwaves and drought just this year. We
know what it feels like to be affected by the
climate crisis in numbing detail.
I first noticed the preoccupation with
the future among activists at Fridays for
Future International when I joined the
movement in 2019. Our campaigns and
conversations focused on the future, and
they did not measure up to the emotion of
marginalised communities, such as the
ancient tribes who have had their land
snatched and laid siege to in the name of
coal in India's Hasdeo forest, or people
who have watched their homes wash away
in floods. Our messaging did not even
come close to covering what it means to be
as China. In addition, China has the
greatest carbon-sequestration
afforestation program in the world,
creating forests the size of Belgium every
year. It has doubled its forest coverage to
23% over the past 40 years. Satellite
analysis over the past 20 years by the US
National Aeronautics and Space
China has the greatest program of adopting renewable energy of
any country. It generates more renewable power than North,
Central and South America - 42 countries - combined. It has more
solar parks and wind farms than any other country. Last year it
established more wind power than the rest of the world combined.
Administration's Ames Research Lab
proves that China has contributed more to
greening the planet than any other
country in the world.
In other words, by almost every
sustainability index, China a world leader
- far ahead of the US, for example - and is
pioneering a way forward for the planet. It
will likely hit its targets ahead of time.
These things are happening because the
CPC has written sustainability and
an Adivasi (Indigenous) activist like
Hidme Markam who was imprisoned
earlier this year and charged under
counterterrorism legislation used to
punish environmental defenders. The 28-
year-old land and women's rights activist
had been protesting against extractive
mining and for locals' rights as well as
fighting for Adivasis jailed on false
charges.
Environmental activists including
myself (I was jailed for 10 days and
released on bail in February during the
ongoing farmer protests) are punished by
the Indian government for asking for a
liveable planet. Sudha Bharadwaj, a trade
union activist, lawyer, and teacher turned
60 in jail the day Prime Minister
Narendra Modi announced India's
commitments at COP26, with pledges
including carbon neutrality by 2070 and
an increase in the share of electricity
generated by solar, wind, and other nonfossil
fuel sources. Bharadwaj has worked
to secure better wages for workers and
land rights for Adivasis but was accused of
being a Maoist with plans to overthrow
the government. More than three years
after her arrest, her trial is yet to start.
On the same day as Modi's
announcement, a group of more than 50
Adivasis in Chhattisgarh state walked
30km (19 miles) to highlight the rising air
pollution due to coal-fired thermal plants
in Raigarh. People from these
communities have had their land and
forests taken away to build coal mines.
Source: Al Jazeera
ecological development directly into its
constitution. This is then implemented
into regional and local policy, such as
sustainable eco-city mandates,
transportation policy, energy
infrastructure, and advanced research, as
well as dedicated funding for alternative
energy development for companies to
start up and build clean energy
technology.
These commitments exist despite the
fact that China's historical and per capita
GHG and CO2 emissions are a fraction of
the world's total. According to the World
Bank, on an annual per capita basis,
China's share is less than half of the
United States; its household energy
consumption is one-eighth of America's.
Cumulative historical amounts matter
because CO2 does not dissipate but
accrues in the atmosphere: stocks, not
flows, are what matter. In accounting, you
look at one's total accrued debt, not one's
daily credit expenditures, to determine
what he or she owes to others. Likewise,
you have to look at historically accrued
GHG to understand harms, liabilities, and
mitigation responsibilities accurately.
Source: Asia times