THOUGH no one dissents, but it becomes too hard for the policy makers to design a model for the development or growth perspective of rural Bangladesh. It happens mostly for lack of proper planning strategies and initiatives. The visionary speech of the iconic Indian living legendary former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam signifies that without a positive approach for rural development ¾ it has become a far cry to attain sustainable development to meet the criterion of millennium development goals (MDGs), particularly for rural Bangladesh. While talking on “Sustainable Development System for a Peaceful and Prosperous Global Society” in Dhaka on Saturday, President Kalam put added weight on urban connectivity that must be extended to the disadvantaged rural areas to lift the lives of millions out of poverty, reported national dailies.
Dr Kalam referring to his model for development that was piloted in India since 2004 stressed on physical, electronic, knowledge and economic connectivity for the rural masses. He suggested extending the urban infrastructure and services in rural hubs under a public-private partnership framework to create economic opportunities there. The development strategy of the former Indian President can be a model for Bangladesh as the country is still lagging far behind in regards to advancement of the economy caused by rural backwardness. Our economy still carries a legacy of uncontrolled brittleness in its rural structure both in terms of resource generation and distribution inequality.
Physical connectivity can be established by providing roads, electronic connectivity through communication networks and knowledge connectivity by way of professional and technical institutions. Once these three connectivities are ensured, as Dr Kalam said, they would automatically facilitate capacity building leading to economic connectivity. Dr Kalam referred to our jute potentials. Jute can be a thrust area by designing newer products or diversification of it using the state of the art technology. Mentioning Sundarbans as the core economic activity for Khulna region, Dr Kalam very confidently claimed that the Khulna model offers a great opportunity to focus on developing forest products and eco-tourism.
Notably, we are the champions of micro-finance, and Dr Kalam prominently mentioned this noble effort and its impact in removing the poverty of the rural poor, particularly in empowering (economically) our ‘unbanked’ women. But unfortunately, our intolerable politics and struggle for power cannot be helpful for accepting liberal ideas about what is just and good for the people.
