Ahad Chowdhury

As heavy monsoon rains once again leave large parts of Bangladesh underwater, the familiar scenes of waterlogging have left many wondering why our cities continue to fail despite massive investments in drainage infrastructure.

As the Padma Barrage Project is placed before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for approval this week, an idea that has evolved since the 1960s may finally become a reality.

Last week, uranium fuel loading began at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna, a moment Bangladesh’s scientists and engineers have awaited since plan to build a nuclear power plant was first conceived in 1961.

India wants shorter treaty terms (10-15 years) that will give it more frequent negotiating leverage. It cites “climate change” but only as justification for taking more water, not for climate-adapted governance. This is nothing but extractive negotiation, not cooperative adaptation.

When Gita Gopinath, former deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), recently stated at Davos that pollution kills millions of Indians annually and makes investors hesitant, she was accused of being unpatriotic.