Urban development in Bangladesh

[chatterjee]

You have to highlight the negative issues with positive. He's not saying anything we don't know.

If you can't do that - then we will become another delusional country (like the one West of us).

Brother look at the thread name urban DEVELOPMENT in Bangladesh and what he is posting!!!

 

[Bilal9]

Brother look at the thread name urban DEVELOPMENT in Bangladesh and what he is posting!!!

Well if you feel that he's not posting _what_ he _should_ post then you should _respectfully_ ask him to post more on-topic posts. The key word is respect. As I realize he is an older brother.

I am always glad to act when people point out the error of my ways, _if_ they do it nicely and respectfully.

This is my key philosophy (yes even for people that I do not like, my various PDF detractors).

I admit that I really regretted the times I've flown off the handle and hurt people's feelings here (when I was stressed with work-pressures and having a bad day). Those are my negative ratings - and they are with me for good.

Now - more on topic, "urban development" means different things to different people. In the strictest sense of the word - it may mean, either,

1. Modern Urban Structures going up to enhance the skylines in Bangladesh (and the study of urban architecture in our country).
​

Or,

2. Taking care of the 'ills of Bangladesh urbanization', such as pressures and problems with,

a) housing (slums),
b) transportation (road and public transport issues )
c) utilities (electricty, water issues)
d) zoning (illegal footpath and bazaar encroachment, businesses in residential areas)​

Now collectively, if you all feel that we'd rather discuss Number 1 here instead or Number 2 (and has historically turned out that way), then we should all decide to discourage posts of the latter type. And agree on it.

But it should be a consensus. A democratic one.

And one agreed on by a foundation of respect for all members within PDF.

I will ask the MODs to see what they have to say as well, per our rules here.

@Oscar, @waz @WAJsal Bhais your opinions please.

 

[EasyNow]

Bro you're being too kind. It's true that "urban development" has many meanings, but you set the precedent for this thread a long time ago - it is about recognizing new projects and the general development of Bangladesh in a positive light.

Our dear 'india doctrine' quoter (wonder who that could be) is on a malicious campaign against his own country just to prove himself right - and he is ruining the thread.

Well if you feel that he's not posting _what_ he _should_ post then you should _respectfully_ ask him to post more on-topic posts. The key word is respect. As I realize he is an older brother.

I am always glad to act when people point out the error of my ways, _if_ they do it nicely and respectfully.

This is my key philosophy (yes even for people that I do not like, my various PDF detractors).

I admit that I really regretted the times I've flown off the handle and hurt people's feelings here (when I was stressed with work-pressures and having a bad day). Those are my negative ratings - and they are with me for good.

Now - more on topic, "urban development" means different things to different people. In the strictest sense of the word - it may mean, either,

1. Modern Urban Structures going up to enhance the skylines in Bangladesh (and the study of urban architecture in our country).
​

Or,

2. Taking care of the 'ills of Bangladesh urbanization', such as pressures and problems with,

a) housing (slums),
b) transportation (road and public transport issues )
c) utilities (electricty, water issues)
d) zoning (illegal footpath and bazaar encroachment, businesses in residential areas)​

Now collectively, if you all feel that we'd rather discuss Number 1 here instead or Number 2 (and has historically turned out that way), then we should all decide to discourage posts of the latter type. And agree on it.

But it should be a consensus. A democratic one.

And one agreed on by a foundation of respect for all members within PDF.

I will ask the MODs to see what they have to say as well, per our rules here.

@Oscar, @waz @WAJsal Bhais your opinions please.

 

[Banglar Bir]

Bro you're being too kind. It's true that "urban development" has many meanings, but you set the precedent for this thread a long time ago - it is about recognizing new projects and the general development of Bangladesh in a positive light.
Our dear 'india doctrine' quoter (wonder who that could be) is on a malicious campaign against his own country just to prove himself right - and he is ruining the thread.

Every coin has two sides, development of our Mega city,is indeed a commendable feat.
However, as a resident of Dhaka for since 1958,I witnessed the City being developed in an unplanned haphazard manner lacking Strategic vision,where is DAP? Along with all other recommendations of the respective expert committee submitted to the successive governments,why are these not being implemented alongside as well?

The answer is crystal clear to the conscious City dwellers,i.e. Corruption,being the sole motive.Absence of Accountability,Transparency,Good Governance,etc.This is a clear indication of a single person being the Judge, the Jury and the Executioner. Prime example of an autocratic or Oligarchic state.

Sharing and eating a piece of the Pie,or sheer looting by the Developers along with all concerned Government agencies,corruption at its highest,while we the victims or City dwellers,need to install expensive reverse Osmosis devices in residences just to drink a glass of tap water,laced with sewer filth, worms,etc.

Wade through overflowing sewerage filth roads and pavements illegally rented out to various vendors,by the local Political syndicates in conjunction with the police.ete,etc.
During Monsoons the scenario is beyond comprehension, a nightmare to be honest.

Sitting thousands of miles away and enjoying a cozy Western life,kindy don't shed crocodile tears and try to highlight your BAL Era/Age of Golden Development.

Let us the taxpayers,and the worst sufferers vent out the existing ground reality and pressurise the government to urgently implement the projects those needs immediate implementation.

Anyways many thanks for your kind concern and true show of Patriotism.

 

[EasyNow]

Every coin has two sides, development of our Mega city,is indeed a commendable feat.
However, as a resident of Dhaka for since 1958,I witnessed the City being developed in an unplanned haphazard manner lacking Strategic vision,where is DAP? Along with all other recommendations of the respective expert committee submitted to the successive governments,why are these not being implemented alongside as well?

The answer is crystal clear to the conscious City dwellers,i.e. Corruption,being the sole motive.Absence of Accountability,Transparency,Good Governance,etc.This is a clear indication of a single person being the Judge, the Jury and the Executioner. Prime example of an autocratic or Oligarchic state.

Sharing and eating a piece of the Pie,or sheer looting by the Developers along with all concerned Government agencies,corruption at its highest,while we the victims or City dwellers,need to install expensive reverse Osmosis devices in residences just to drink a glass of tap water,laced with sewer filth, worms,etc.

Wade through overflowing sewerage filth roads and pavements illegally rented out to various vendors,by the local Political syndicates in conjunction with the police.ete,etc.
During Monsoons the scenario is beyond comprehension, a nightmare to be honest.

Sitting thousands of miles away and enjoying a cozy Western life,kindy don't shed crocodile tears and try to highlight your BAL Era/Age of Golden Development.

Let us the taxpayers,and the worst sufferers vent out the existing ground reality and pressurise the government to urgently implement the projects those needs immediate implementation.

Anyways many thanks for your kind concern and true show of Patriotism.

The other side of the coin is plenty reflected in the dozens of threads you have opened, it does not need to be rammed in here too.

I don't think anyone in the world thinks Bangladesh is problem-free, this thread was attempting to focus on the small positives in our land but you will not allow that either.

 

[Bilal9]

Bro you're being too kind. It's true that "urban development" has many meanings, but you set the precedent for this thread a long time ago - it is about recognizing new projects and the general development of Bangladesh in a positive light.

Our dear 'india doctrine' quoter (wonder who that could be) is on a malicious campaign against his own country just to prove himself right - and he is ruining the thread.

If we have disagreements among posters - they should be solved amicably and through discussion. I am not personally into pointing fingers, which doesn't solve anything.

We are all adults - I'm sure @Banglar Bir bhai will heed our suggestion about posting only specific things in specific threads. Right brother?

 

[Banglar Bir]

@Bilal9
SENIOR MEMBER
Salam brother, out of my sheer respect towards a reputable/knowledgeable distinguished member like you and as a reflection of good faith, from now onwards I am willing to refrain posting the reverse side of the coin in a thread created by you.While, I am also earnestly requesting to highlight the plight faced by us the City dwellers,irrespective of their social classification.
My humble request to all reputed PDF members, would be NOT to use this enlightened forum as a propaganda tool/Goebbels deceitful lies, by the RAWami goons.

 

[Bilal9]

@Bilal9
SENIOR MEMBER
Salam brother, out of my sheer respect towards a reputable/knowledgeable distinguished member like you and as a reflection of good faith, from now onwards I am willing to refrain posting the reverse side of the coin in a thread created by you.While, I am also earnestly requesting to highlight the plight faced by us the City dwellers,irrespective of their social classification.
My humble request to all reputed PDF members, would be NOT to use this enlightened forum as a propaganda tool/Goebbels deceitful lies, by the RAWami goons.

Thanks Bhai - I appreciate your decency and well-thought consideration. Well-noted.

15 new 5-star hotels in next 3 years
Jasim Uddin 9th September, 2017 02:37:30

Several international hotel chains have taken up plans to expand their business in Bangladesh to cater for the growing need for luxury accommodation in Dhaka and other popular locations across the country.

According to industry sources, 15 more 5-star hotels will be set up in Bangladesh over the next three years to help the hospitality sector get along with the development thrust as the country pushes on plans to become a middle-income economy by 2021.

Apart from tourists, a large number of foreign buyers, diplomats, government and international agency employees, and business travellers visit Bangladesh regularly.

The existing 5-star hotels cannot fully accommodate the international guests.

The demand for luxury accommodation facility will rise further as the government has been working to attract more foreign tourists to boost the country’s tourism sector.

At present, there are seven 5-star hotels in the country, having a little over 1600 suites and rooms, which can accommodate around 2000 guests.

Of these, Intercontinental Hotel, the oldest one in the country, is now undergoing renovations and is likely to reopen in February 2018.

Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel has 277 suites and rooms, the Westin Dhaka has 235, Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden 200, Le Meridien Dhaka 304 and Four Points by Sheraton 149 suites and rooms.

The Radisson Blue Chittagong Bay View boasts of 241 suites and rooms with pleasing views of the commercial capital.

There was a time when only two luxury hotels -- Purbani in Dhaka and Agrabad in Chittagong -- were operating in the country. The two hotels are still operating along with many others across the country in the 3-star category.

Over the years, many investors have come forward to develop international luxury chain hotels to serve the growing number of tourists arriving in the country.

Hospitality industry experts said the completion of the would-be ventures would provide enormous opportunities and a big boost to the hospitality industry in Bangladesh.

The international hotel chains which are expanding business in Bangladesh include Hotel Sheraton, Holiday Inn, JW Marriott, Swiss Hotel, Hyatt Regency, Element Hotel, Saint Regis Hotel, Hilton Hotel and Dusit Hotel.

They will operate 5-star hotels built by local entrepreneurs in capital Dhaka, port city Chittagong, tourist town Cox Bazar and divisional cities like Khulna and Mymensingh.

The upcoming ventures will offer around 4,000 5-star standard rooms and suites apart from other facilities.

“With the expansion of Bangladesh’s economy, the demand for luxury accommodation is increasing.

The existing luxury hotels are inadequate to fulfil the demands of the growing number of guests in Bangladesh," said Md Al-Amin, Director of Sales and Marketing at Westin Dhaka.

“At present, capital Dhaka has only 1,200 rooms in five luxury hotels, which are not enough to cater for the growing need of the guests seeking 5-star accommodation,” he said, adding that the average occupancy rate at these hotels is 70-72 percent.

Luxury hotels are usually build by local entrepreneurs while international hotel chains operate them under profit sharing arrangement.

Hospitality industry insiders said US-based global hotel chain Marriot International has partnered with two Bangladeshi companies for operating two 5-star hotels, one each in Dhaka and Chittagong.

Marriott International has signed agreements with Jamuna Builders Limited, a real estate concern of the Jamuna Group, to operate a 700-room JW Marriott Hotel in Dhaka and with Pacific Jeans, one of the leading premium jeans manufacturers, for another 250-room Marriott in Chittagong.

"We’re very hopeful of launching our hotel by the end of next year,” said Monika Islam, Director of Jamuna Group, while talking to the daily sun.

Syed M Tanvir, Director of Pacific Jeans Ltd, told the daily sun: “We’re taking necessary preparation to launch the hotel, hopefully by January next year.”

Unique Hotel and Resorts Ltd, the owner of Westin Dhaka, will build another four 5-star standard hotels at Gulshan, Banani and Uttara in the capital.

“There will be an Element Hotel at Uttara with 80 rooms, Sheraton Hotel at Banani with 250 rooms and St Regis Hotel and Hyatt Regency at Gulshan each having 220 rooms,” Westin Dhaka’s Sales and Marketing Director Md Al-Amin said.

Global hotel chains Holiday Inn and Marium Group are expecting to launch their branches in Dhaka in February 2018.

Bengal Group of Industries and Swissotel struck a deal to build the Swissotel Dhaka at Gulshan-Tejgaon Link Road in the capital. The Swissotel Dhaka will feature 375 guest rooms and suites.

Md Jashim Uddin, Vice-chairman of Bengal Group of Industries, told the daily sun: "It’ll be the first project of Swissotel Hotel in Bangladesh. The hotel is scheduled to open in 2020.”

Index Holdings Ltd, a concern of Index Companies, has signed a MoU to become the local franchise of US-based global chain Best Western Hotels and Resorts.

As per the agreement, both the enterprises will invest in hotel business under joint-venture arrangement through local and international financing companies and their establishments will feature rooms and suites in 3-star, 4-star and 5-star categories.

“We’ve a plan to offer 426 quality rooms across the country under 5-star, 4-star and of 3-star categories which will be launched by next two and a half years. Both of our hotels and resorts will be located near the 300 feet road adjacent to Bashundhara Residential Area,” a representative of the Index Holdings has said.

Another 4-star hotel will be launched in Rajshahi town with 64 rooms and a 3-star resort will be built in Rajendrapur adjacent to the national park with 52 rooms, he said.

Best Holdings Limited, the owner of Hotel Le Meridian, is working on a plan to build a resort in its Valuka Agro Project in Mymensingh. Le Meridian Bhaluka Resort and Spa is scheduled to open in January 2019 with more than 200 rooms. The 400-acre resort will feature lush green and scenic beauty.

Hilton Worldwide signed a management agreement with Premier Hotels and Resorts to manage Hilton Dhaka at Gulshan with 250 rooms.

Dusit International, one of Thailand's leading hotel and property development companies, is set to expand its global footprint with the opening of Dusit Princess Dhaka with 90 rooms, the company's first property in Bangladesh, under a long-term arrangement with a subsidiary of Lakeshore Hotels Limited.

The hotel will boast of 80 guest rooms and 10 suites in a 13-storey building at Uttara.

Radisson, which is operated in Bangladesh under joint venture between US-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide and Chittagong-based Clewiston Group, will build a 350-room 5-star hotel on Kalatoli beach in Cox's Bazar.

 

[Mage]

Thanks Bhai - I appreciate your decency and well-thought consideration. Well-noted.

15 new 5-star hotels in next 3 years
Jasim Uddin 9th September, 2017 02:37:30

Several international hotel chains have taken up plans to expand their business in Bangladesh to cater for the growing need for luxury accommodation in Dhaka and other popular locations across the country.

According to industry sources, 15 more 5-star hotels will be set up in Bangladesh over the next three years to help the hospitality sector get along with the development thrust as the country pushes on plans to become a middle-income economy by 2021.

Apart from tourists, a large number of foreign buyers, diplomats, government and international agency employees, and business travellers visit Bangladesh regularly.

The existing 5-star hotels cannot fully accommodate the international guests.

The demand for luxury accommodation facility will rise further as the government has been working to attract more foreign tourists to boost the country’s tourism sector.

At present, there are seven 5-star hotels in the country, having a little over 1600 suites and rooms, which can accommodate around 2000 guests.

Of these, Intercontinental Hotel, the oldest one in the country, is now undergoing renovations and is likely to reopen in February 2018.

Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel has 277 suites and rooms, the Westin Dhaka has 235, Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden 200, Le Meridien Dhaka 304 and Four Points by Sheraton 149 suites and rooms.

The Radisson Blue Chittagong Bay View boasts of 241 suites and rooms with pleasing views of the commercial capital.

There was a time when only two luxury hotels -- Purbani in Dhaka and Agrabad in Chittagong -- were operating in the country. The two hotels are still operating along with many others across the country in the 3-star category.

Over the years, many investors have come forward to develop international luxury chain hotels to serve the growing number of tourists arriving in the country.

Hospitality industry experts said the completion of the would-be ventures would provide enormous opportunities and a big boost to the hospitality industry in Bangladesh.

The international hotel chains which are expanding business in Bangladesh include Hotel Sheraton, Holiday Inn, JW Marriott, Swiss Hotel, Hyatt Regency, Element Hotel, Saint Regis Hotel, Hilton Hotel and Dusit Hotel.

They will operate 5-star hotels built by local entrepreneurs in capital Dhaka, port city Chittagong, tourist town Cox Bazar and divisional cities like Khulna and Mymensingh.

The upcoming ventures will offer around 4,000 5-star standard rooms and suites apart from other facilities.

“With the expansion of Bangladesh’s economy, the demand for luxury accommodation is increasing.

The existing luxury hotels are inadequate to fulfil the demands of the growing number of guests in Bangladesh," said Md Al-Amin, Director of Sales and Marketing at Westin Dhaka.

“At present, capital Dhaka has only 1,200 rooms in five luxury hotels, which are not enough to cater for the growing need of the guests seeking 5-star accommodation,” he said, adding that the average occupancy rate at these hotels is 70-72 percent.

Luxury hotels are usually build by local entrepreneurs while international hotel chains operate them under profit sharing arrangement.

Hospitality industry insiders said US-based global hotel chain Marriot International has partnered with two Bangladeshi companies for operating two 5-star hotels, one each in Dhaka and Chittagong.

Marriott International has signed agreements with Jamuna Builders Limited, a real estate concern of the Jamuna Group, to operate a 700-room JW Marriott Hotel in Dhaka and with Pacific Jeans, one of the leading premium jeans manufacturers, for another 250-room Marriott in Chittagong.

"We’re very hopeful of launching our hotel by the end of next year,” said Monika Islam, Director of Jamuna Group, while talking to the daily sun.

Syed M Tanvir, Director of Pacific Jeans Ltd, told the daily sun: “We’re taking necessary preparation to launch the hotel, hopefully by January next year.”

Unique Hotel and Resorts Ltd, the owner of Westin Dhaka, will build another four 5-star standard hotels at Gulshan, Banani and Uttara in the capital.

“There will be an Element Hotel at Uttara with 80 rooms, Sheraton Hotel at Banani with 250 rooms and St Regis Hotel and Hyatt Regency at Gulshan each having 220 rooms,” Westin Dhaka’s Sales and Marketing Director Md Al-Amin said.

Global hotel chains Holiday Inn and Marium Group are expecting to launch their branches in Dhaka in February 2018.

Bengal Group of Industries and Swissotel struck a deal to build the Swissotel Dhaka at Gulshan-Tejgaon Link Road in the capital. The Swissotel Dhaka will feature 375 guest rooms and suites.

Md Jashim Uddin, Vice-chairman of Bengal Group of Industries, told the daily sun: "It’ll be the first project of Swissotel Hotel in Bangladesh. The hotel is scheduled to open in 2020.”

Index Holdings Ltd, a concern of Index Companies, has signed a MoU to become the local franchise of US-based global chain Best Western Hotels and Resorts.

As per the agreement, both the enterprises will invest in hotel business under joint-venture arrangement through local and international financing companies and their establishments will feature rooms and suites in 3-star, 4-star and 5-star categories.

“We’ve a plan to offer 426 quality rooms across the country under 5-star, 4-star and of 3-star categories which will be launched by next two and a half years. Both of our hotels and resorts will be located near the 300 feet road adjacent to Bashundhara Residential Area,” a representative of the Index Holdings has said.

Another 4-star hotel will be launched in Rajshahi town with 64 rooms and a 3-star resort will be built in Rajendrapur adjacent to the national park with 52 rooms, he said.

Best Holdings Limited, the owner of Hotel Le Meridian, is working on a plan to build a resort in its Valuka Agro Project in Mymensingh. Le Meridian Bhaluka Resort and Spa is scheduled to open in January 2019 with more than 200 rooms. The 400-acre resort will feature lush green and scenic beauty.

Hilton Worldwide signed a management agreement with Premier Hotels and Resorts to manage Hilton Dhaka at Gulshan with 250 rooms.

Dusit International, one of Thailand's leading hotel and property development companies, is set to expand its global footprint with the opening of Dusit Princess Dhaka with 90 rooms, the company's first property in Bangladesh, under a long-term arrangement with a subsidiary of Lakeshore Hotels Limited.

The hotel will boast of 80 guest rooms and 10 suites in a 13-storey building at Uttara.

Radisson, which is operated in Bangladesh under joint venture between US-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide and Chittagong-based Clewiston Group, will build a 350-room 5-star hotel on Kalatoli beach in Cox's Bazar.

Still no five star in Noakhali?

 

[Bilal9]

Still no five star in Noakhali?

Newcally will develop when Payra develops. There will be lots of EPZs/SEZs in that area. The hotels will appear when SEZs appear, some are already ready to go.

 

[mb444]

Still no five star in Noakhali?

If there is a need one will pop up. Investors are not stupid they are not in the business of setting up white elephants....... build it and they will come rarely works in real life.

@Bilal9
SENIOR MEMBER
Salam brother, out of my sheer respect towards a reputable/knowledgeable distinguished member like you and as a reflection of good faith, from now onwards I am willing to refrain posting the reverse side of the coin in a thread created by you.While, I am also earnestly requesting to highlight the plight faced by us the City dwellers,irrespective of their social classification.
My humble request to all reputed PDF members, would be NOT to use this enlightened forum as a propaganda tool/Goebbels deceitful lies, by the RAWami goons.

I do not like getting into slanging matches. Personally post what you like if it's in keeping with the thread.

There is no problem showing the reverse. Development often have a reverse impact and we should be mature enough to talk about it responsibly.

 

[Banglar Bir]

Living insecure and lonely
by Monwarul Islam | Published: 00:05, Nov 16,2017 | Updated: 01:04, Nov 16,2017

WHILE talking to a doctor friend of mine, who is pursuing a higher degree in psychiatry, about a few days ago, I was astonished to find his cutting, edgy observation on the state of mental health of urban people who, in his words, are thronging the chambers of psychiatrists.
He answered callously, when I asked him for the reason behind his pursuing higher degree in psychiatry, that the business of psychiatrists is booming as more people are suffering from different types of mental health issues.

To my further question why people are becoming more vulnerable to psychiatric problems, the would-be psychiatrist said, to summarise, that most of us are living with a compulsive and consistent sense of insecurity and loneliness.

His cold and calculated answers, thrown a bit jokingly though, got on my nerves.
What he said is wholly true that we, hundreds of thousands, are living with a destabilising sense of insecurity, economic and otherwise, and we are living lonely amidst the crowd.

For a psychiatrist, this might mean a business prospect, to joke a little, but it sheds light on a far deeper condition of our social and personal life.

With our social lives torn and tossed, family ties severed or atomised, with precariousness being the defining factor of our economic state, with distrust having its toll on interpersonal relations, we are pushed to create shells around our private-personal lives and lock ourselves inside them.
Out of these shells, we can no longer maintain real social contacts; neither can the ethereal ones provide us with the needed warmth of togetherness.

As the would-be psychiatrist puts it — people are becoming more insecure and lonely and these two conditions define our hectic lives.

Insecurity, as the word suggests, is lack of security, of stability, of a belief that you are in a firm position and have nothing to fear. Sadly we are living in a society where economic and political system is so designed as to fill us inevitably up with a sense of insecurity.

The deepest sense of insecurity, for today’s urban people without a war to threaten their lives, is of the economic insecurity.

Well over a half of the working people in urban areas are insecure about their jobs, their income. Their income and their jobs are, at best, precarious. They have nothing or very little to stick to which can give them an identity, a profession-based identity.

You are hired today to do a job; you will be fired tomorrow if your service is not needed. As a result, both of your profession-based identity and profession-generated skills are highly unlikely to sustain. As such, your attachment to the work you do is at best extraneous and fragile.

You are nothing more than a ‘mechanistic part’ in your workplace. The part you serve in your office or at work does not necessarily require the individual you. In such a condition, a worker’s position is definitely vulnerable and prone to exploitation and is bound to develop a riding sense of insecurity.

The authorities will surely take the best advantages of this situation. They will make you work more and pay less. They will decide whether you are secure with them or not.

In fact, the number of workers and officials with insecure, precarious jobs, not to mention the large number of the unemployed and the underemployed, is so fast increasing that a class which economist like Guy Standing and some others have named the ‘precariat’ appears to be in the making.

Standing’s 2011 book The Precariat: the New Dangerous Class defines this class as a mass one characterised by chronic uncertainty and insecurity.

Due to what the neoliberal, global market terms as ‘job/labour market flexibility’, which is in Guy Standing’s words, ‘an agenda for transferring risks and insecurity onto workers and employees’, there has been the creation of a global ‘precariat’, composed of many millions around the world without an anchor of stability.

The descriptive term ‘precariat’ came into use in the hands of French sociologists during the 1980s, but seeing it as a class, or class-in-the-making as Guy Standing puts it, in the globalised era began very recently.

Not to go deeper into Guy Standing’s elaborate and interesting stratification of the new class orders under the globalised economy, it is quite understandable that more people are being trapped into this precarity where chronic insecurity is the staple condition.

While writing on the range and volume of the class, Noam Chomsky, one of the leading thinkers of today, in his 2012 article ‘Plutonomy and the Precariat’, goes as far as to say that except the handful wealthiest with access to power and control over politics and policies the whole lot of the rest are in the precariat, living their lives adrift and unstable.

With no sight of sustainable development of life and career, with no let-up from the gnawing sense of insecurity, this class is led to live a life characterised by alienation, anger, anxiety and anomie. Guy Standing succinctly says, ‘a life with four A’s’.

Needless to say that a person of this class who experiences these four A’s is a lonely, alienated and detached man fighting his dogged fights round-the-clock to keep his fears at bay.

Since the system, in its mechanic-systemic pull, is throwing us into a space of hostile competition and compulsive individualism where one’s gain inevitably makes others’ at stake, where we are in a war of every man against every man, we are losing the good-old values of living together.

One can quite logically remember, in this connection, Karl Marx’s path-breaking explanation of alienation which explains workers’ alienation from their labour, from their productions, from each other and, most importantly, from their species-essence (guttungswesen).

The last aspect of alienation, that is, alienation from what Marx termed guttungswesen (translated as species-essence or human nature) in his Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 (also known as the Paris Manuscripts) is related, in effect, to the other three aspects of alienation; and alienation from the ‘species-essence’(the natural way of living) is what turns, to be more accurate forces, the human nature into a mechanistic part in the mode of production.

Society, as we understand it, is not any more a working concept as social spaces, meaning spaces of inter-personal communications and sharing, are just vaporising. Instead of social spaces, we are driven into a sort of a distorted private space where as persons we are inhabited by deep-rooted sense of insecurity and loneliness.

Since the fundamental characteristic of humans as mammals with a history of shared living is no more with us, we are carrying wounded, irreparably damaged private lives making us prone to psychosis of one sort or another.

It is, therefore, no wonder that, according to a national survey, 16 per cent adults in the country, specially the urban adults, are suffering from some sort of mental health issues and, the doctor friend says, the number is increasing.
Monwarul Islam is a cultural correspondent of New Age.
http://www.newagebd.net/article/28424/living-insecure-and-lonely

 

[Banglar Bir]

2:00 AM, November 16, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:19 AM, November 16, 2017
Dhaka Attack of another kind
Destruction of country's heritage should be considered a crime

This century-old laboratory building in Dhaka's Khamarbari area was demolished recently, despite a High Court order halting the demolition work. PHOTO: Star
Mamnoon Murshed Chowdhury
While this year's hit Bangla movie Dhaka Attack was running to packed audiences, there was another kind of attack going on in the heart of Bangladesh's 400-year-old capital city. A demolition team, engaged by the Public Works Department, was razing to the ground a magnificent edifice built in 1909 for agricultural research, known as the Laboratory—the first of its kind in this part of Bengal.
A High Court bench had issued an order on October 26, Thursday, to halt demolition until the next Tuesday. Disregarding the order, demolition continued during the weekend at an astonishing speed. On Saturday afternoon, with more than half of the building still intact, a bulldozer was brought in.
Within hours, its brutal blades reduced the 108-year-old structure to rubble.
To any observer, the whole action would appear as one executed with monstrous rage to inflict maximum possible damage that makes the idea of re-building an utterly nonsensical one.

Rewind ten years to 2007. This time the site was Narinda in Old Dhaka. Binat Bibi Mosque, Dhaka's oldest surviving mosque built during 1454-1457, was being demolished to make space for a larger, multi-storied one. The initiative was taken by none other than the “Mosque Committee.” The custodians had earlier been shown at least seven different architectural design proposals—extension schemes that did not require destruction of the historic structure.

For reasons unknown, none of these were accepted. The Department of Archaeology, the government agency designated to identify and protect all things relevant to the history and culture of the land, could not stop the merciless tearing down of the 550-year-old mosque. This, as the Department was reported to have said at that time, was “not a protected site.”
Ironically, neither was the Laboratory.

A little over a month ago, a 200-year-old two-storied house built by Armenian merchant Nicholas Pogose was partly demolished before conservationists obtained a court order to prevent it. Niki Shaheb er Kuthi is of significant archaeological importance, but not listed as such. Last year, the 300-year-old Azimpur Old Graveyard Mosque was all but destroyed to give way to a newer edifice.

The mosque was stated to be the last surviving example of an Ottoman-influenced structure with single dome and flanking half-domed vaults. This, again, was not a protected structure. In 2015, a 300-year-old Mughal-era residential building in Shakhari Bazar was almost razed before DoA intervened. Known as Holding No 64, the building was among the 142 buildings listed for protection in the area. During the past seven years, as The Guardian reported in March 2017, more than 500 such historic buildings in Old Dhaka have been demolished. The same report made a chilling prediction about the surviving ones—that Dhaka's “building frenzy would happily claim the rest.”

Dhaka appears set to become a city without memories, a city that claims to have 400 years of history but retains little architectural evidence to support it. As our heritage faces a two-pronged attack—from the government and individual owners—there is little doubt that a tragic cultural bankruptcy awaits us.

Unfortunately, the demolitions seldom make headlines in the press, or generate active, sustained protest from the people. It is always a small group of conservationists and conscientious citizens leading the often-futile resistance. Their actions at times trigger hostile reactions, and as seen in the Laboratory case, prompt the bulldozers to work double time. The contemporary society, with its architects and artists, poets and politicians, maintains a blasé indifference to the authenticity of a conservationist's arguments. Judges and journalists are, therefore, his last resort.

But when and how did this corrosive nihilism creep into our collective psyche? Is this phenomenon an inevitable consequence of our destruction of political institutions?
Or is it the economy? Whatever the reason, it is a fact that we are comfortable with a depleted state of mind that values money over memories.

Speaking of facts, let us admit that the owners of historic buildings are often in a financial quagmire. With no government initiative to transform a heritage into financially rewarding usage, an inherited property loses its development potential when declared as “protected.” The owners feel unjustly deprived and attempt to get the buildings certified as “unsafe” that merit demolition.

A sustained campaign over the years to create earthquake impact awareness has not helped the cause of conservation. Often, those leading such campaigns are unacquainted with, or insensitive to, the cultural importance of an area or a building, and hastily prescribe demolition instead of retrofitting.

At the institutional level, there is something terribly amiss with our mindset. Heritage buildings are not held in high esteem. The British can afford to build a new Parliament. Harvard University can take down the 300-year-old Massachusetts Hall to build a high rise. Maharashtra government can opt for a smart communication hub in place of Victoria Terminus. Instead, they have learnt to utilise heritage as a capital.

In Dhaka, schools having buildings that date back to early or mid-20th century are attempting to tear them down. The owners of the now-demolished Laboratory building had acres of land at their disposal to develop a master plan with new buildings while proudly highlighting the historic ones. But, evidently, they have no regard for the jewels they possess. The architects working for the government, people who are expected to be sensitive about such issues, did not, or could not, deter the owners either, and instead played the role of a strong supporting cast.

So, is there a win-win solution that can save Dhaka from sinking into heritage bankruptcy? Certainly, there is. Conservation strategists do not need to reinvent the wheel as there are effective tools in use all over the world. One such tool is the concept of Transfer of Development Rights [TDR]. It is a programme that encourages owners of properties marked protected from development to voluntarily sell the development rights to another person or entity, who will then be allowed to utilise the rights to build more than normally permitted at another location.

A plot owner in Dhanmondi can buy the development rights of a historic building in Shakhari Bazar and obtain permission from the government to build certain additional floors. The owner of the Shakhari Bazar building retains the ownership of land and can continue using it without further development.

In cities with skyrocketing property prices like New York and Mumbai, TDR is put into use not only to protect heritage sites, but also to protect farmlands and slums. It is unfortunate that many precious years have passed since RAJUK was introduced to the concept of TDR. Dhaka keeps on paying the price in terms of lost heritage as RAJUK delays inserting TDR provisions in the Imarat Nirman Bidhimala.

“National pride is to countries what self-respect is to individuals: a necessary condition for self-improvement,” wrote the philosopher Richard Rorty in 1998. As Bangladesh continues to advance on the economic front, a wanton disregard in preserving its heritage only hurts our national pride. The diabolic antihero of the Dhaka Attack movie wanted to blow up Dhaka's landmark buildings, like the National Assembly and High Court, only to be thwarted by the antics of two brave law enforcers.

One only hopes that RAJUK and the Department of Archaeology will act heroically to save our historically significant buildings from demolition by the senseless quarters.
Buildings are poignant palettes of national identity, history and memories.
We should not lose them.
Mamnoon Murshed Chowdhury is an architect based in Dhaka.
http://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/perspective/dhaka-attack-another-kind-1491883

 

[Bilal9]

American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB) Permanent Campus at Kuril (partially finished with high-rises yet to be built)

 

[BDforever]

Thanks Bhai - I appreciate your decency and well-thought consideration. Well-noted.

15 new 5-star hotels in next 3 years
Jasim Uddin 9th September, 2017 02:37:30

Several international hotel chains have taken up plans to expand their business in Bangladesh to cater for the growing need for luxury accommodation in Dhaka and other popular locations across the country.

According to industry sources, 15 more 5-star hotels will be set up in Bangladesh over the next three years to help the hospitality sector get along with the development thrust as the country pushes on plans to become a middle-income economy by 2021.

Apart from tourists, a large number of foreign buyers, diplomats, government and international agency employees, and business travellers visit Bangladesh regularly.

The existing 5-star hotels cannot fully accommodate the international guests.

The demand for luxury accommodation facility will rise further as the government has been working to attract more foreign tourists to boost the country’s tourism sector.

At present, there are seven 5-star hotels in the country, having a little over 1600 suites and rooms, which can accommodate around 2000 guests.

Of these, Intercontinental Hotel, the oldest one in the country, is now undergoing renovations and is likely to reopen in February 2018.

Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel has 277 suites and rooms, the Westin Dhaka has 235, Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden 200, Le Meridien Dhaka 304 and Four Points by Sheraton 149 suites and rooms.

The Radisson Blue Chittagong Bay View boasts of 241 suites and rooms with pleasing views of the commercial capital.

There was a time when only two luxury hotels -- Purbani in Dhaka and Agrabad in Chittagong -- were operating in the country. The two hotels are still operating along with many others across the country in the 3-star category.

Over the years, many investors have come forward to develop international luxury chain hotels to serve the growing number of tourists arriving in the country.

Hospitality industry experts said the completion of the would-be ventures would provide enormous opportunities and a big boost to the hospitality industry in Bangladesh.

The international hotel chains which are expanding business in Bangladesh include Hotel Sheraton, Holiday Inn, JW Marriott, Swiss Hotel, Hyatt Regency, Element Hotel, Saint Regis Hotel, Hilton Hotel and Dusit Hotel.

They will operate 5-star hotels built by local entrepreneurs in capital Dhaka, port city Chittagong, tourist town Cox Bazar and divisional cities like Khulna and Mymensingh.

The upcoming ventures will offer around 4,000 5-star standard rooms and suites apart from other facilities.

“With the expansion of Bangladesh’s economy, the demand for luxury accommodation is increasing.

The existing luxury hotels are inadequate to fulfil the demands of the growing number of guests in Bangladesh," said Md Al-Amin, Director of Sales and Marketing at Westin Dhaka.

“At present, capital Dhaka has only 1,200 rooms in five luxury hotels, which are not enough to cater for the growing need of the guests seeking 5-star accommodation,” he said, adding that the average occupancy rate at these hotels is 70-72 percent.

Luxury hotels are usually build by local entrepreneurs while international hotel chains operate them under profit sharing arrangement.

Hospitality industry insiders said US-based global hotel chain Marriot International has partnered with two Bangladeshi companies for operating two 5-star hotels, one each in Dhaka and Chittagong.

Marriott International has signed agreements with Jamuna Builders Limited, a real estate concern of the Jamuna Group, to operate a 700-room JW Marriott Hotel in Dhaka and with Pacific Jeans, one of the leading premium jeans manufacturers, for another 250-room Marriott in Chittagong.

"We’re very hopeful of launching our hotel by the end of next year,” said Monika Islam, Director of Jamuna Group, while talking to the daily sun.

Syed M Tanvir, Director of Pacific Jeans Ltd, told the daily sun: “We’re taking necessary preparation to launch the hotel, hopefully by January next year.”

Unique Hotel and Resorts Ltd, the owner of Westin Dhaka, will build another four 5-star standard hotels at Gulshan, Banani and Uttara in the capital.

“There will be an Element Hotel at Uttara with 80 rooms, Sheraton Hotel at Banani with 250 rooms and St Regis Hotel and Hyatt Regency at Gulshan each having 220 rooms,” Westin Dhaka’s Sales and Marketing Director Md Al-Amin said.

Global hotel chains Holiday Inn and Marium Group are expecting to launch their branches in Dhaka in February 2018.

Bengal Group of Industries and Swissotel struck a deal to build the Swissotel Dhaka at Gulshan-Tejgaon Link Road in the capital. The Swissotel Dhaka will feature 375 guest rooms and suites.

Md Jashim Uddin, Vice-chairman of Bengal Group of Industries, told the daily sun: "It’ll be the first project of Swissotel Hotel in Bangladesh. The hotel is scheduled to open in 2020.”

Index Holdings Ltd, a concern of Index Companies, has signed a MoU to become the local franchise of US-based global chain Best Western Hotels and Resorts.

As per the agreement, both the enterprises will invest in hotel business under joint-venture arrangement through local and international financing companies and their establishments will feature rooms and suites in 3-star, 4-star and 5-star categories.

“We’ve a plan to offer 426 quality rooms across the country under 5-star, 4-star and of 3-star categories which will be launched by next two and a half years. Both of our hotels and resorts will be located near the 300 feet road adjacent to Bashundhara Residential Area,” a representative of the Index Holdings has said.

Another 4-star hotel will be launched in Rajshahi town with 64 rooms and a 3-star resort will be built in Rajendrapur adjacent to the national park with 52 rooms, he said.

Best Holdings Limited, the owner of Hotel Le Meridian, is working on a plan to build a resort in its Valuka Agro Project in Mymensingh. Le Meridian Bhaluka Resort and Spa is scheduled to open in January 2019 with more than 200 rooms. The 400-acre resort will feature lush green and scenic beauty.

Hilton Worldwide signed a management agreement with Premier Hotels and Resorts to manage Hilton Dhaka at Gulshan with 250 rooms.

Dusit International, one of Thailand's leading hotel and property development companies, is set to expand its global footprint with the opening of Dusit Princess Dhaka with 90 rooms, the company's first property in Bangladesh, under a long-term arrangement with a subsidiary of Lakeshore Hotels Limited.

The hotel will boast of 80 guest rooms and 10 suites in a 13-storey building at Uttara.

Radisson, which is operated in Bangladesh under joint venture between US-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide and Chittagong-based Clewiston Group, will build a 350-room 5-star hotel on Kalatoli beach in Cox's Bazar.

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