Ariful Islam Abir

Democracies have one great corrective: The election, the moment citizens who handed over power can take it back. Photo Credit: Shutterstock An MP's job is to hold the government accountable. But who holds the MP accountable and with what information? Ask voters in Rangpur a simple question: what has their MP done in Parliament this year? How many days did the MP attend? What did the MP ask ministers about?

Few industries in Bangladesh depend as completely on human labour as shipbreaking. Every tonne of steel the sector yields is cut, carried, and hauled by hand. Yet, accident records suggest an industry that treats this labour as expendable. The recent incident that took place inside the LNG carrier MT Rasi at Ferdous Steel Ship Recycling Industries in Sitakunda, on August 14, led to the death of 10 workers.

In 1976, Ziaur Rahman, then Chief Martial Law Administrator, established the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) by ordinance, bringing fuel marketing and distribution under one state roof. A year later, as president, he established the Rural Electrification Board (REB) to carry power into Bangladeshi villages, where it did not exist. There’s an irony here.