by OLIUR SUN
A ‘digital’, growing Bangladesh has not translated to basic rights and freedoms for ordinary citizens, Oliur Sun finds.
In the capital, Dhaka, flyovers, metro rails and high rises are being rapidly constructed above the heads of the poor. A show of new infrastructure, often poorly planned, seems to be the only way in which Bangladesh tries to evade its image as one of the most exploited countries in the world.
‘Paddy piled up high, sheds full of cows, ponds brimming with fish’ – this classic image of a golden Bengal can now only be found in grandmothers’ tales or government propaganda. Instead, special economic zones are being set up in paddy fields and cows are being infused with antibiotics, while rivers and canals connected to ponds are being polluted by industries and grabbed by people with political power.
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