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Gangamati Reserved Forest

PATUAKHALI

Gangamati Reserved Forest

Gangamati Evergreen Mangrove Forest

In Kuakata there is a evergreen mangrove forest name Gangamati Reserved Forest. Gangamati Reserved Forest is located to the east of Jhau forest or Jhau bon. While visiting there you will see nice structure of forests, big trees, sands etc. Gangamoti is a forest where you will see various kinds of birds. So tourist your excursion can be incomplete you don�t pay a visit to Gangamoti.
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Gangamati Reserved Forest : Evergreen Mangrove forest

Gangamati Reserved Forest

Moving in and around the city during the Eid-ul-Azha is absolutely a horrendous experience. Cleaning the capital during the Eid Ul Azha becomes a major challenge for the responsible government agency since thousands of animals are sacrificed right on the streets and the waste is usually left out in the open. Apart from its regular task to clean the waste generated by over 12 million people living in the capital, Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) has to take additional responsibilities of creating systematic disposal options for the city dwellers during this particular Eid. With limited manpower, financial support and equipment, cleaning the city in the shortest period of time continues to be an uphill task for DCC.

As a result, the waste remains rotting in the streets for at least two-days emanating the noxious smells.

The problem begins a few days before Eid day when people buy animals from the local haats that spring up everywhere and then when they keep these animals in apartments and houses, which do not have any facility to keep such animals for a few days. Many citizens indiscriminately dispose of the straw and excreta of the animals here and there, contributing to the pollution even before the sacrificing of the animals.

It is a mammoth task for DCC to clean this extra waste.

It is a mammoth task for DCC to clean this extra waste. This problem deteriorates on the Eid day when millions of cattle are sacrificed and blood is spilled on the lanes. Claiming DCC is gearing up activities to remove the waste generated from the sacrifice of animals in two days, DCC Chief Waste Management Officer, Captain Bipon Kumar Saha says that along with the fleet of 8,000 regular cleaning staff, DCC has employed 1,400 additional cleaners to do the job. Moreover, private waste collection service providers will be included in the cleaning programme led by DCC.

"We will also deploy all of our logistical equipment such as garbage trucks, containers, trawlers, pray loaders, tire-dodgers, dump trucks and water lorries for this purpose. Moreover, we have requested Wasa and the Fire Service department to provide us water-carrying trucks, which will be engaged in spraying water in all the areas to clean the blood of the sacrificed animals. Sufficient amount of bleaching powder and antiseptic to be used for cleaning, has also been distributed to the zones."

However, the DCC high official believes that only DCC cannot tackle this situation unless people become more aware and carry out their responsibilities properly. "Without support from the public it will be difficult for us to clean the city in time. We will try our best to clean the waste but most people do not behave responsibly. It would be a lot easier to clean the city if the devotees sacrificed the animals in a designated spot instead of soiling the streets," he says.

DCC will start awareness generating programmes for proper disposals in every locality ahead of Eid. The high official says a mass awareness programme has already been launched by posting advertisements in newspapers, and distribution of stickers, leaflets and posters. "We will also request the imams of mosques and Eid congregations to create awareness among the devotees about cleanliness and tell them how the wastes should be removed. Moreover, we will start making announcements on mikes two days ahead of the Qurbani Eid in all the wards. The do's and don'ts prepared by the DCC regarding animal waste disposal will be read out so that people get an idea how to deal with it," says the high official.

Piles of garbage in alleyways are a common sight in Dhaka. It is most likely to get worse n the coming days.

He further adds, "If people keep the Qurbani waste in a separate dustbin other than throwing here and there, our cleaners would be able to pick it from the dustbin. It is very important that nobody dumps the waste in the drains."

The best way to manage the waste would be to dig a hole and bury the leftovers there. If there is any blood spilt on the ground it should immediately be washed off with a lot of water and bleaching powder.

Just imagine, a country in where 38.6% people live under poverty line. In 2008, per capita income was US $1389 where by the average was us$10,497. According to the International Monetary Fund, Bangladesh is 48^th largest economy in the world in 2008. GDP is now US $0228.4 billion and half of this GDP belongs to service sector where two third of the population are working in agricultural sector. Rice is most important product upon which the GDP relies significantly. Peoples, who work overseas mostly in Middle East and East Asia, have significant role as Bangladesh earns remittances.

Besides garments is another source of foreign exchange earning. Rice and jute, two most important products upon which our economy depends a lot. Jute is called the golden fibre of Bangladesh. Now a days wheat production is increasing. But as population is increasing at a very high rate, Bangladesh is facing food problems thereby it has to pay a lot of currencies to import food products especially child food. 10% to 15% of population is facing serious nutritional problems and 45% people are at risk of food security. Again it is a country of rivers, so floods affect a lot in cultivation. Natural disaster also plays vital role in destroying our economy.After achieving independence in 1971, Bangladesh confronted the challenging task of developing and diversifying its economy, as the country had very limited natural resources and arable land with which to support its rapidly growing population. The task was complicated by years of political turbulence and military coups (in 1975, 1981, and 1982) that did little to attract international investors and by devastating natural disasters that regularly visited Bangladesh in the 1970s and 1980s. By the beginning of the 21st century, according to the World Bank, Bangladesh had become one of the poorest and least-developed economies in Asia.

During the 1970s and 1980s the government of Bangladesh promoted economic development based on heavy state involvement both in economic management and economic planning. In fact, after achieving independence, the government led by the Awami League, nationalized large and medium-sized enterprises in jute, cotton textile, sugar processing, banking and insurances. Its economic policies were centered on 5-year plans (the first 5-year plan was launched in 1973), which aimed at development and public resource allocation modeled on the Soviet 5-year experience. However, the Bangladeshi experiment with socialism did not last long, and the government eschewed radical changes. The country's average gross domestic product (GDP) growth of around 3.3 percent in the 1970s and 4.4 percent in the 1980s (World Bank calculation) were very impressive, but this growth was offset by even more rapid growth of the population.

In 1991, new civilian government considerably revised the economic policies of the previous government, introducing elements of free market economy, limiting state intervention, downsizing the government, launching privatization and attempting to attract foreign direct investments (FDIs) and technologies. The political stability of the 1990s and the new economic policies attracted international investors and greatly contributed to the economic growth of around 5 percent throughout the 1990s. However, Bangladesh still depends heavily on international assistance and loans, as well as remittances from Bangladeshis working abroad. According to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Country Report, in 1999 the country's external debt stood at US$15.145 billion, or 35 percent of GDP. This amount is relatively small according to international standards and mainly due to past capital account restrictions. According to the IMF, one of the peculiarities of the Bangladeshi foreign debt that makes it different from that of Indonesia or Malaysia is that it is almost entirely public, with private debt accounting for a low 5 percent of the total country's debt. Bangladeshi official reserves stood at a level of US$1.522 billion in 1999.
The structure of the Bangladeshi economy changed gradually over the last 3 decades. According to the World Bank, the contribution of agriculture to the country's GDP has been steadily declining from 55 percent in 1970 to 31.6 in 1999, although it still provides employment to large numbers of people. Bangladesh remains one of the world's leading producers of jute and rice, although most of the rice is for domestic consumption rather than export. The proportion of manufactured production grew from 9 percent of GDP in 1970 to 19.3 percent of GDP in 1999. Manufactured products accounted for around 60 percent of gross export earnings in 1999, with clothing goods becoming the single most important product. Tourism is a very small but rapidly growing sector of the economy that increased by around 42 percent between 1993 and 1998. Approximately 171,000 tourists visited the country in 1999, contributing Tk2.4 billion to the national economy. By comparison, tiny Singapore attracts a similar number of tourists every week.

For a long time Bangladesh struggled to diversify its economy. Large and medium state-owned enterprises dominate the manufacturing sector, although a number of private enterprises were established during the 1990s. Medium and small farms dominate the agricultural sector, and many farmers are still engaged in subsistence agriculture. Meanwhile, a number of medium and small, usually family-owned, enterprises dominate the service sector, especially retail. Bangladesh tried to catch up with the information technologies boom in the 1990s, but unlike neighboring India, it failed to promote this sector of its economy on a similar scale.

Economic growth and stability failed to bring economic prosperity to a large proportion of the population, especially in rural areas. Since the 1970s there has been an outflow of large numbers of the young and the most talented people from the country through various legal and illegal channels. Allegedly, organized criminal groups connected to drug trafficking control this outflow. Drugs are another important issue, as Bangladesh shares a border with Burma (Myanmar), which is a part of the world's largest opium producing region called the "Golden Triangle" (an area between Burma, Laos, and Thailand). The shadow economy is believed to be very large due to incomplete economic activities data collection, tax evasion, and a strong tradition of cash economy, although this shadow economy is not necessarily related to organized criminal activities. In 1996 a national account task force was formed to upgrade the outdated and inefficient system of national accounting, having among other goals to deal with the problem of calculating and capturing shadow economy activities.

Eco

There is no doubt that Bangladesh is developing at a good rate but its internal infrastructure to support the communication, transportation, water and power supply is quite limited. The service sectors are developing rapidly but industrial sectors are remaining undeveloped. There is eye catching development in coal mining. Lastly, we have large human resource, abundant water and agricultural land. But what will be happened while we would use all of these resources??

Climate change is no longer a distant threat. According to IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the effects of climate change have already been observed, and scientific findings indicate that precautionary and prompt action has become imperative.

Preferring economic development rather than for sustainability, industrialized countries invested heavily in carbon intensive technologies, such as coal-fired power plants, massive road systems, and electrical grids. Some greenhouse gases remaining in the atmosphere for centuries, human induced emissions have guaranteed the inevitability of climate change regardless of policy responses. Most greenhouse gases have been and are emitted to meet the needs of modern industrial societies. The burden of impacts is likely to be most serious in developing countries even though they have contributed very little to historical emissions.

Developed countries account for high percentages of annual greenhouse gas emissions. In 2000 total emission of all greenhouse gases was 24,790 million tones CO2 equivalents of which share of the G8 countries, least developed countries and other countries were 48%, 0.4% and 51.60%, respectively. Annual CO2 emission per person from the burning of oil, natural gas and coal in 2003 for USA, Russia, UK, Japan, China, Brazil, India, Senegal and Bangladesh were 20 tones, 11.2 tones, 9.5 tones, 9.4 tones, 2.7 tones, 2.0 tones 1.0 ton, 0.5 ton and 0.2 ton, respectively.

Since the beginning of the industrial revolution the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased exponentially from about 280 parts per million (ppm) in 1800 to over 380 ppm in 2006. The concentration of carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere are now at the highest levels over 650,000 years. The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is very closely linked to global temperature. IPCC has projected that by 2100 atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide could have reached between 540 ppm and 970 ppm and that, as a result, global surface temperature could rise by between 1.4 degree C and 5.8 degree C.

Climate change threatens the basic elements of life for people around the world -- access to water, food, health, and use of land and the environment. On current trends, average global temperatures could rise by 2 - 3�C within the next fifty years or so, leading to many severe impacts, often mediated by water, including more frequent droughts and floods.

Rising sea levels will result in tens to hundreds of millions more people flooded each year. There will be serious risks and increasing pressures for coastal protection in South East Asia (Bangladesh and Vietnam), small islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific, and large coastal cities, such as Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Calcutta, Karachi, Buenos Aires, St Petersburg, New York, Miami and London. By the middle of the century, 200 million more people may become permanently displaced due to rising sea levels, heavier floods, and more intense droughts, according to one estimate. Melting or collapse of ice sheets would raise sea levels and eventually threaten at least 4 million Km2 of land, which today is home to 5% of the world's population. .

Bangladesh is especially vulnerable to climate change because of geographic exposure, low incomes, and greater reliance on climate sensitive sectors such as agriculture. It is noticed that climate related disasters such as floods, droughts, and tropical storms are gradually increasing in Bangladesh along with frequent depression in Bay of Bengal.

In particular, sea level rise is of grave concern to a developing country like Bangladesh with a vast, low-lying, densely populated deltaic coast. Tens of millions of people are at risk of becoming climate refugees. One meter sea level rise will inundate about one fifth area of Bangladesh which will displace 25-30 million people. This is many times higher than the entire population of all pacific islands combined, and twice the total population of Australia or the Netherlands. Bangladesh is the victim of climate change without inducing any climate change acitivites.

Bangladesh is fully committed to addressing the challenges of climate change and has signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in June 1992 at Rio and ratified it on 15 April 1994 and the Kyoto Protocol on 22 October, 2001.

Bangladesh attaches highest priority to the Climate change negotiation and is playing a vital role on behalf of LDCs from the first Conference of the Parties (COP) of UNFCCC, held in Berlin, Germany in 1995. The ensuing 15th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Copenhagen is of prime importance for LDCs and SIDs in general and Bangladesh in particular. The following issues are needed to be considered by this COP for combating future climate change regime:

* The adaptation fund must be fast tracked and the least developed countries should get top priority under it. Efforts are should made to substantially increase the level of support to the LDCs, particularly through operationalizing and developing new mechanism/instruments with adequate resources, in adaptation needs of various sections such as agriculture, forestry, protection of coastal belt, biological diversity, eco-system, infrastructure, health etc, so that they can manage climate risk and adapt better to the speed and the scale of climate change and its impacts.

* Adaptation fund and LDCs fund under GEF should be simplified with reduced transaction costs. Greater focus of the funds should be accorded to the project and programme implementation, not on reports and consultation exercises. The RAF should be revised to take into consideration the special situation of the most disadvantaged countries, the LDC Parties. The GEF criteria of co-financing of adaptation projects are a serious constraint for the LDCs. GEF should look for options to overcome this conditionality. Global environmental benefits should not be used as criteria for access to funds under the RAF.

* Agreement for development of vulnerability index and categorization of countries according to their vulnerability in order to identify scale of specific needs and actions for adaptation to climate change under future climate change regime is urgently required.

* Efforts should be made for process simplification and uniform geographical distribution of CDM projects along with capacity building of LDCs.

* There should be consensus for establishment of an International Adaptation Centre to address relevant needs, finding of priorities and devices of adaptation regime. This institution will spearhead the sharing of know-how and practice to build necessary capacity among the vulnerable nations, pooling, sharing and building on each other's capacity.

* Preferential access to environmentally sound technologies know-how, practices and process pertinent to climate change is crucial for LDCs. There should be specific modalities in the post Kyoto instrument for the development, application and diffusion of both mitigation and adaptation technologies to LDCs at an affordable cost.

* Any further delay in setting targets for deeper cuts in GHG emission will jeopardize the very existence of millions of people with little staying power. COP 15th should agree on firm reduction commitment without which effective adaptation measures cannot be designed along with funding and technology deployment. Bangladesh believes that to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change, the global average temperature increases must be kept as far below 2�C as possible. In this regard, deeper cut of GHG (40% within 2020 and 80% by 2050) is urgently needed.

* Displacement of millions of people from coastal areas is inevitable due to sea level rise as indicated by the IPCC. COP should consider the permanent migration issue of climate refugees.

Fifteen years have already been passed but negotiation processes of UNFCCC have yet to deliver a substantial outcome regarding mitigation, adaptation, financing and technology transfer in line with the related articles of the convention for supporting developing countries to combat climate change, rather than providing a complex and tedious negotiation process.

Attitudes of the World Leaders who are the top emmitter manifest that COP-15 may not yield any encouraging result regarding deep emmission cut for the second commitment period. It is noticed that there is lack of progress to comply with present commitment period too by the Annex-I countries. Bangladesh as a most vulnerable country to climate change cannot sit idle or cannot depend only on UNFCCC. Hopefully, the government of Bangladesh is pursuing intensive bilateral talks with the countries and development partners for getting support to combat climate change.

ICCIT 2008- ICT Future in Bangladesh

The 11th International Conference on Computer and Information Technology (ICCIT 2008) has been successfully staged in the campus of Khulna University of Engineering & Technology (KUET) . With 101 acres of campus and with its nice green landscape blended with beautiful architectural maneuvers, KUET- one of the top technological universities in Bangladesh, took the challenge to host the 11th ICCIT 2008. This is the first time ICCIT is held outside capital city Dhaka.

The conference was scheduled for three days (25-27 December, 2008). That included the inauguration ceremony, presentations on 138 technical papers, 6 keynote sessions addressed by 6 prominent researchers around the world, a session on BdREN, a gala dinner and a cultural show. Workshops organized by two prominent universities of Australia also took place in conjunction with the conference.

Initially 538 papers were submitted from 24 different countries. However, 158 papers were finally selected for the event. The selection panel consisted of 83 reviewers from all around the world. The paper acceptance rate of 29.4% indicates the acceptability of the conference. Out of these 158 papers, 138 papers finally took their places in the conference proceedings. Out of these papers, 42.4% have originated from authors outside of Bangladesh. The conference was technically co-sponsored by IEEE Bangladesh Section and the papers in the proceedings would be included in the IEEEXplore digital library. For the first time, some of the selected papers would have the chance to be extended and to be included in six distinguished journals- Journal of Computers, Journal of Communications, Journal of Multimedia, Journal of Networks, and Journal of Software published by Academy Publisher and International Technology Management Review published from Australia.

On 25th December the session began at early morning with registration & kit distribution. The formal opening of IICIT 2008 kicked off with a great style at 4.30 pm as there was a delay in the flight schedule of the chief guest. Before that there were two keynote sessions on the following topics: �How may research crank-up economic engine� by Mohammad A. Karim, PhD, Vice President for research, Old Dominion University, Virginia, USA and �Utility Oriented Grid Computing and the Gridbus Middleware� by Rajkumar Buyya, PhD, Director of GRIDS Lab, University Of Melbourne& CEO, Manjrasoft pty Ltd, Australia. In his lecture Prof. Karim addressed the major re-engineering milestones and the transformational context that has evolved research universities into what are now primary drivers of regional economic engines.The chairman of the university grants commissions of Bangladesh Prof. Nazrul Islam was the chief guest at the opening ceremony. Other special guests at the occasion included Prof. Dr. Nawsher Ali, VC, KUET, Chair, advisory committee, Iccit2008, Prof. Dr. Basudev Chandra Ghos, Co-chair, advisory committee, Iccit2008, Mohammad A. Karim, Chair, international programming committee, Iccit2008, Prof. Dr. M.M.A Hasem, Chair, organizing committee Iccit2008, and Prof. Dr. MD. Rafiqul Islam, Secretary of organizing committee Iccit2008. Among other distinguished guests, Dr. Jafar Iqbal, Shahjalal University Of Science & technology, Prof. Dr. Saifuddin Ahmed, VC, Khulna University, faculty members from different universities, authors and researchers were also present. 'The recent rapid development in information and communication Technology has urged scholars, scientists, researchers, academicians, theorists, professionals, technologists and entrepreneurs to share the improvement they are inducing. Conference like ICCIT is one of the strong and prestigious platforms for them to sustain the newer technologies they are inventing ' the chief guest was quoted saying.

He also added that the newer technologies should be used for the mankind and the political leaders of our country should also be aware of this ICT revolution. Prof. A. Karim said that this type of conferences energizes a large number of unusual young and talented people by providing them a world-class platform. 'The true measure of success of this major international conference will be judged by the newer ideas and techniques disseminated by it. It would help nurture a technological climate in Bangladesh,' Prof. A. Karim also addressed.

Over the next two days the research papers in the field of algorithms, information system and software engineering, bio-informatics, wireless communication, artificial intelligence and various other topics related to the respective field were presented. Some of these papers are very lucrative if implemented in Bangladesh. The four other keynote speakers of the conference were Abdul Sattar, PhD, Professor and Director, Institute for integrated intelligent systems, Griffith University, Australia and Research leader, National ICT Australia University, Ramamoharano Kotagiri, PhD, Professor, Department of Computer Science and software Engineering, The University Of Melbourne, Australia, Mohammad Atiquzzaman, PhD Professor, School Of Computer Science, University Of Okalhoma, USA, Alamgir Hossain, PhD, MOSAIC Research centre, Department Of Computing, school of informatics, University Of Bradford, UK.

When asked for his feedback Prof. Dr. Jafar Iqbal said, 'Unless we generate knowledge the education is not complete. So we need to have conferences where our researches will be able to contribute. because of this conference- I feel encouraged.' Mr. Abdul Sattar, PhD also shared his optimism. He said, ' In my view this conference was very well organized. I am particularly impressed by the enthusiasm shown by young academic staff and students; and the energy they employed in this event. For me it was the first visit to Bangladesh and I found people very warm, welcoming, respectful, polite and sincere in their jobs. I would like to thank the organizers and wish them all the best in future.' In the last day an invited session called 'A New era in Bangladesh higher education: joining the global alliance of emerging high performance research and education network' was conducted by Jabed. I. Khan, Ph.D, Professor, Department of Computer science, Kent University, USA. Professor Dr. Ehsanul Haque, member of UGC Bangladesh was also present with him as a supplementary speaker. Also for the first time in the history of ICCIT two international workshops on 'Internet and distributed computer system (IDCS2008)' organized by The University Of Melbourne, Australia and 'Data mining and artificial intelligence' were also held on 24th December in conjunction with ICCIT2008. The bandwagon came to an end by gala dinner and exclusive cultural show.

Climate change has captured public attention much like the cold war, we all know there is a common enemy and there is a real threat of disaster, but at the back of our minds we think, if all else fails at least we have a bomb shelter. The only difference is that while a bomb shelter may protect one from a Soviet onslaught, it won't be of much use underwater, because that's what climate change can, will and is doing to millions of homes across the world. For those who think it's a myth, all they need to do is travel to the south of Bangladesh so see the first hand effects of climate change and how it destroys more than just homes, but dreams and aspirations.

Jamie Hewlett the British artist and co-creator of the comic strip Tank Girl and the band Gorillaz recently travelled to Bangladesh with Oxfam to see what climate change meant to those on the front lines. From his travels and experiences in Bangladesh he pieced together a small exhibition titled Under Water Colours, which was recently exhibited at the Dray Walk Gallery in London. The collection of watercolours are as distinct as his other graphic work. Yet the series from Bangladesh is interesting as he uses his comic book/ guerrilla graphic style to deal with life in the spectre of disaster. Known for his offbeat style in the hugely popular comic Tank Girl, he later explored his artistic boundaries with Blur's Damon Albarn to create the characters for immensely successful "virtual band" Gorillaz. His futuristic take on a virtual band included an extensive back-story, with intricate details as he fleshed out his characters with an urban grunge flair.

The basic elements of his artistic temperament remain unchanged in his exhibition on Bangladesh, the only major departure being the light in which he treats his subjects. In his piece "Chums" he painted two young girls he was following around the village. The view of their backs as they walk with an arm around each other is playful and feels almost as if it's out of a children's book. When talking about the painting Hewlett says, "We followed these two girls in the village looking happy and smiling. The children always looked so innocent. I wanted to portray the next generation and their future in an optimistic but realistic way - and show what a beautiful place Char Atra is. I think many people have sadly become numb (or immune) to footage of dying children. If people can relate to a picture, then it can sometimes have more of an impact. Showing two children being playful, walking down a path with their arms around each other is a connection that people here might understand from their own or their children's experiences."

While none of the paintings really jump up and hit you, there are a few which are quite surprising when one pays enough attention to them. In "Tree Kids" Hewlett portrays two children up a tree, but what could be a playful scene is actually about as frightening as one can get. On closer inspection the children are not up in the trees playing, they are up there to get away from the floods. One is griping the tree as hard as he can while the other is in a more comfortable position looking down on what surely is a flood, clutching a container of water. Interestingly Hewlett did not paint the flood, nor anything other the trees and the kids. One would assume that was to highlight the danger of what we cant see, in the larger sense of the exhibition and for that matter Bangladesh that would be climate change.

Another painting of the riverbank showcases the raw power of climate change. In it people stand on a riverbank inspecting the latest land erosion which threatens both their lives and their livelihoods. In a dairy he wrote of his time in Bangladesh he said, "we got to see the river erosion, where the river just gets slowly eaten away by the tides. We saw a concrete bridge with no land either side of it because the land's dropped back so far." While such a sight may be new to him, in Bangladesh river erosion is treated as a simple part of life, the only problem is that climate change exacerbates the damage.

Possibly the best painting to come out of the exhibition is "A boy called Zahid". In the painting he puts a little boy named Zahid who he met on his trip on a chair and tries to encapsulate his innocence and emotions as he looks up to the sky that brings his family and village so much hurt. The expression of pain on the boy's face is as beautifully nuanced as the delicate shading on his body and the creasing of his shorts. It is the piece which really brings the exhibition together and in a way serves as both the starting and ending point of journey.

In his diary on the trip to Bangladesh Hewlett wrote, "My first impression of Char Atra was that it's quite idyllic. It's very beautiful and green and there's a community living together, with the children just running around, having fun and swimming in the river. There's a sense of community, which you don't really have in England at all. It's hard to imagine this place being completely washed away, that the river rises so high that it can actually destroy all this." Nothing could be truer than this. His words just like his paintings have a way of cutting right to the point in a minimalist yet fulfilling manner. Hewlett's trip to Bangladesh may have been an eye opener to him on the reality of climate change, one only hopes those who saw his exhibition understood the human toll of the global phenomenon called climate change.

Health and safety is always a big concern of about 3 million Muslims who have already started and will travel to Saudi Arabia within a few days to perform the holy Hajj. One must be in good health, not only to perform Hajj and Umrah but also to make maximum use of the opportunity to make as much prayer as possible. The more physically fit one is, the easier it would become to perform the many rituals that a complete Hajj include. The following is a guideline to follow during performing Hajj which must be accompanied by your own doctor's advice pertaining to your health needs.

Physical fitness

Prepare yourself for the Hajj rituals prior to your departure by gradually walking greater distances starting 4-6 weeks before you leave. A brisk walk of 1 hour three times a week should be sufficient. One should practice one's walking in slippers that will be worn during the Hajj.

You should seek advice from your doctor if you have heart disease, lung disease, cancer or have previous or a family history of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), hormone treatment, recent surgery, recent trauma involving lower limbs and any abnormalities of blood clotting factors.

Food and water safety

Tap water is not safe to drink anywhere. Drinking water has to be bought in the form of bottled water. However, Zam Zam is available freely in Makkah and in Medinah. Using this opportunity, you can fill containers with Zam Zam water and bring it to your room. Avoid ice cubes from vendors that is sold for cooling water.

Due to a change in the diet, indigestion and constipation may arise. Maintaining a high fibre diet, like a bran or wheat cereal, wholemeal bread, dried fruit, not eating an abundance of fried or fatty foods, drinking adequate amounts of water can avoid constipation and indigestion. Do not over eat. Eat small meals, have adequate liquids and keep out of the sun until you are required to stand outside. People should avoid eating exposed food, unpasteurised milk, milk-products and buying food from street vendors.

Prevent Swine flu

This year's Hajj will take place during flu season. Many individuals and governments are concerned about the possibility of an outbreak. The Saudi health ministry, aided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is setting up emergency operation centers to get real-time reports from area hospitals and clinics to track how many are sick and will need the free anti-viral medication stockpiled for the dense gathering. The density of the pilgrims, with shoulder-to-shoulder contact as they pray, provides 'a perfect transmission atmosphere' for the new flu that scientists call the 2009 H1N1 strain, officials warned.

Saudi health officials during the summer urged that children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with chronic diseases postpone this year's trek, but they will not be banned. Flu virus is transmitted via the respiratory route and you should exercise sensible precautions:

� Where possible, avoid close contact with persons who are ill with an flu-like illness.

� Wash hands with soap and water; use waterless alcohol-based hand gels when soap and water is not available.

� Avoid touching your nose, mouth or eyes to prevent the spread of germs.

� Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze and dispose of the tissue promptly. If you fall ill (especially with flu like symptoms) you should seek medical assistance.

Diabetes

Please make sure that diabetes control is at its optimum. Together with a Doctor's help, optimal diabetic control should start at least two months before departure to make sure that control is good and the correct medication is taken.

A proper diabetic diet is very important. Most people would have their food included in their accommodation package. The hotels provide food for many people who do not have special dietary requirements. Diabetics should make their own arrangements where possible, e.g., use brown bread which can be bought easily instead of the tempting white flour rolls or bread that may be on offer, or the abundant white rice that may be prepared.

Fruit juices that are made in take-away places have large amount of sugar added to them to make the juice taste nice. Diabetics must make sure that no sugar is added. Fruit juices are plentiful and extremely tempting.

Diabetics must take extra care of their feet. Treat scratches and even tiny cuts promptly until they heal. Apply extra moisturiser to keep the skin supple and elastic. Care of nails and feet are also important. Remember that open sandals will be worn for the duration of Hajj. Nails should be well trimmed and not catch on clothes. When walking, allow enough space in front so that feet are not trampled.

Asthma

Asthma sufferers must ensure that their asthma is well controlled with preventative medications. They must ensure that they take adequate supply of their medications with them including preventative medication, broncho-dilator inhalers and tablets. If well controlled, asthma does not pose a problem during Hajj and Umrah.

In situations where there are crowds of people, infections are more likely to spread. Remember that germs spread by droplets from our mouth as we speak or when we cough, especially if phlegm is present or by direct contact as in sharing a cup, spoon, fork, etc. The unhygienic act of spitting phlegm onto the pavement that is very commonly seen must be prevented to avoid spreading germs.

Conclusion

If you intend to perform Hajj or Umrah, you need to make sure that your general health is good. If you suffer from any illness, please visit your doctor early so that your condition can improve before you leave. Adequate preparations will make the performance of Hajj a fruitful and memorable experience. It may bring the intention of performing the perfect Hajj that much closer. May Almighty Allah bless each and every Hujjaj with a safe and healthy Hajj.

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