VOLUME 4 ISSUE 1
HOW FAR ARE WE FROM ATTAINING TARGET 4C OF SDGS IN BANGLADESH? A SITUATION ANALYSIS
Authors: Rajib Lochan Das
Published: 2022-09-24
Goal 4 of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) is about inclusive and equitable quality education to accomplish by 2030. Among ten targets of goal 4, target 4.c is to ensure a substantial supply of qualified and trained teachers. Signatory nations agreed
Download for More DetailsDETERMINATION OF POLLUTANT OF RIVER TURAG COMING FROM SURROUNDING INDUSTRIES
Authors: Md Monirul Islam, Selina Nargis, Mahfuzur Rahman & Md Rayhan Ahamed
Published: 2021-December-15
The study deals with assessing water quality parameters including pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD), temperature, transparency, hardness, and turbidity of the Turag River in Tongi, Gazipur, Bangladesh based on the standards of the Department of Environment (DoE) in Bangladesh, the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), and the World Health Organization (WHO). The physicochemical parameters of water were investigated for nine stations (S1 to S9) in the Turag River through laboratory experiments considering three different sources, i.e., discharge point (DP), contamination point (CP), and midpoint (MP). The average pH values ranged between 6.44 and 7.76, indicating that all values were within the standard limits (pH=6.5 to 8.5) for aquatic creatures for all stations except S7 (pHCP=6.44). The average values of TDS were 0.31~0.90 ppm, which reveals a low TDS condition. The average values of DO were 3.79 to 6.49 ppm, indicating a low DO value from the standard level (4.0 to 6.0 ppm for domestic and 5.0 ppm for fish culture) for all stations excluding S1 (CP). The values of BOD were between 18.98 and 50.81 ppm, indicating a higher condition than the expected value of BOD (6.0 ppm for fish culture and 10.0 ppm for irrigation). The temperatures of water varied from 26.28 to 32.19ºC, indicating standard temperatures (20 to 30ºC) for aquatic creatures except for S2 (DP, CP, and MP), S3, S7 (DP and CP), S5 (DP), and S6 (DP). The average transparency values maintained the standard limits (≤15.75 inches) for aquatic organisms. The hardness values were 26.0~214.04 ppm, indicating without S1, S2, S3 (DP and CP), S7 (DP) under the acceptable limits. Finally, the turbidity values indicate a higher condition than the standard limit (10 NTU, Nephelometric turbidity units). According to the investigation, the water quality of the Turag River mostly exceeds acceptable limits. It is, therefore, urging water managers to do constant monitoring to reduce the level of pollution of the Turag River.
Download for More DetailsA TEMPERATURE-BASED MACHINE LEARNING MODEL TO PREDICT WATER NEEDS AND TO MINIMIZE WATER WASTE DURING IRRIGATION
Authors: Md. Rashedul Islam, Md. Sakibul Islam, Md Sabbir Talukdar, Utpal Kanti Das
Published: 2021-December-15
While the use of machine learning algorithms in the irrigation sector is not a new approach, the method of applying machine learning algorithms in the irrigation sector in terms of minimizing the wastage of water is new in Bangladesh. Irrigation of any crops is heavily dependent on the groundwater source in our country. To meet the goal of precious agriculture, it is a matter of necessity that we effectively find a novel approach to address the issue of water wasting during irrigation and ensure the proper use of the water sources. The origin of our research is based on this issue where we have applied decision tree and random forest regressor to build a model that is assisting us to irrigate a precise amount of water during harvesting season. Reference Crop Evapotranspiration (ETo) and Crop Coefficient (Kc) are the parameters to calculate the water need for a particular crop. The Hargreaves method is used to find out the Reference Crop Evapotranspiration (ETo) by importing a python-based library named PyEto. To maximize the use of our dataset, we logically fragmented our dataset into two sets providing 180 instances each. A respective logical fragment contains the Crop Coefficient (Kc) value of Tomato crops of its four different growing stages. The multiplication result between Reference Crop Evapotranspiration (ETo) and Crop Coefficient (Kc) compute the target variable that is, Crop Water Needs (ETCrop). The data split in 90:10 ratio to train and test the model respectively. Our model provides significantly higher accuracy after comparing the training and testing of the data. The high accuracy of our model will lead to irrigating the exact amount of water required to harvest tomato crops and save the unnecessary wastage of the water.
Download for More DetailsTHE ROLE OF BENGALI AND ENGLISH AS THE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION (MOI): A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
Authors: Md. Habeeb Faruk Khan, Farjana Hossain
Published: 2021-December-15
In pre-independence and post-independence Bangladesh, the idea of nominating an appropriate language as Medium of Instruction (MOI) has primarily focused on two languages: Bengali (Mother language) and English (Second Language). This study explored the contributions of Bengali and English as MOI in the tertiary level of education in Bangladesh taking viewpoints of the stakeholders into consideration. A qualitative approach was followed to conduct the study where 30 participants from 2 universities, 1 public and 1 private, were selected as sample. Dissecting a wide range of views from the participants regarding the impact of Bengali and English as MOI, the study found that both the languages as MOI had significant arguments in favor of and at the same time against them. While English as MOI has a considerable upper hand in the internalization of education in this globalized era, Bengali, a legitimate contributor to the nationalistic identity, is still holding it high in the local market. Based on the findings, this study argues that giving priority to the needs of specific students and being flexible enough in terms of choosing MOI should be the first consideration rather than fixing a particular language as the MOI for everyone.
Download for More DetailsIMPACT OF WASTEWATER DISCHARGE TO THE RIVER TURAG: A CASE STUDY ADJACENT TO THE IUBAT
Authors: Md Tarekh Rasul, Md Monirul Islam, Saiful Islam Sajjad, Md Zihad Islam
Published: 2021-December-15
The Turag, one of the major peripheral rivers of Dhaka city, has become highly polluted due to the discharge of effluent from some point and non-point sources. To identify the impact of the point source for the river pollution, wastewater has been tested from a discharge point adjacent to the International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT) campus, and at the same time, water samples from the river Turag have been tested for consecutive seven months. The test results of the present study and the test results of other studies show that the different point sources are significantly polluting the Turag. It has been found that the point-source adjacent to IUBAT does not satisfy wastewater quality standards to discharge into inland waterbody as per the guideline of the Department of Environment (DoE), Bangladesh. Total suspended solids (TSS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), dissolved oxygen (DO), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) level of the wastewater sample was found as 209.57±122.25 mg/l, 394.66±34.75 mg/l, 0.00 mg/l and 736.8 ±239.65 mg/l, respectively, which were beyond the water quality standard. On the other hand, quality of water of the river Turag itself does not satisfy the standards of DoE. The water pollution indicating parameters like TSS, BOD5, DO, and COD levels of the Turag water were found as 189.97±98.21 mg/l, 53.49±12.33 mg/l, 0.26±0.56 mg/l and 84.8 ±11.75 mg/l, respectively, which is beyond the standard to use as feed water in water supply systems both in domestic and industrial, to use for recreational activities, fisheries, or irrigation purposes. Proper treatment of effluent before discharging can save the Turag from pollution. There is scope for resource recovery from wastewater if a holistic approach to waste management is adopted.
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