& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Lest we forget

In memory of an executor

Mamun Rashid
ON September 1, Bangladesh lost an executor and a creative genius. With his passing, there is one less member of the already limited Bangladeshi talent pool. Yes, I am talking about one of the most eminent and competent government officials and engineers -Qamrul Islam Siddiqui - - who was a secretary in the Ministry of Works and Housing and a chief engineer of Local Government Engineering Department (LGED).
He also served as chairman of the Power Development Board (BPDB) and was president of the Institution of Engineers. Bangladesh. He was the first chair-person of Global Water Partnership, South Asian Region in 2003 and 2004. Lately, he was hold-ing the post of chairman, Bangladesh Water Partnership. Siddiqui, who left us only at the age of 63, died of a massive cardiac arrest in New Jersey, USA.
Siddiqui was not only a public servant: he was also an intrepid freedom fighter. He was well
regarded in Bangladesh for his legendary contribution to infrastructure building and was known as the architect of rural infrastructural development. More importantly, he was renowned for his creative thinking and execution capabilities. His image as a visionary executor made him stand out in his contemporary league.
While writing this obituary, my eyes drift away to a book -- From Third World to First -- The Singapore Story -- which I found lying on my table a few months back I was reminded of my discussions with Mr. Siddiqui the other day at the Gulshan Lake Park, when
he said that Bangladesh was in dire need of positive thinkers and executors. We need people like Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the ex-prime minister of Singapore to change the mathematics of our country's economy.
Mr. Siddiqui not only advised me to read the book but, to my utter surprise, also dropped it on my desk the following day. That was his unique way of enlightening others.
I first met him in the early '90s, when he was the chief engineer at LGED and said to be the busiest bureaucrat in. the country. .AH along, I found Mr. Siddiqui to be an exceptionally energetic and workaholic person, an amiable person who did not let our age difference act as a barrier in our friendship.
I saw in him the passion for achieving things, the passion that unifies and inspires people to do things with "military precision." Mr. Siddiqui was a freedom fighter. In his professional life he carried the same spirit, passion and inspiration for the development of his motherland. Only a few fortunate people can live up to their commitments through their lives, and Mr. Siddiqui was one of those privi-
leged. He single-handedly developed LGED as an institution and executed his dreams, passion and commitment to build a better Bangladesh.
Mr. Siddiqui, the founding chief engineer of LGED, realised the importance of rural infrastructure development. He could convince all the government departments, development partners, and experts in multilateral institutions that for bringing positive and structural changes in Bangladesh, a country which,is biudiwfi vyjth expppea-tial population growth and poor infrastructure, there was no other alternative but infrastructure development. Hence, unlike many other government institutions, LGED really progressed, performed and worked for the country's development.
During the 1980s and 1990s, LGED developed roads, transportation networks, drainage, waste disposal facilities etc for almost all municipalities. It worked to develop the country's health sector, and built irrigation facilities and rubber dams for farmers. It also worked on alternative fuel by
building bio-gas plants and solar panels.
Mr. Siddiqui will be remembered for his strategic vision and contribution in all these developments, where he applied new and innovative engineering technologies. As a result, LGED was recognised as a development model in the public sector.
He was a social thinker and believed in change, new initiatives and social progress. For example, under his supervision, LGED involved rural women for road maintenance worktf.HVhltrh'tfeatfeti employment for millions of women labourers. He was a great admirer of information technology
LGED was the first government office in Bangladesh to use computers and LAN systems. He was also a founding member of a village school which promoted computer education besides providing general education and vocational training.
Mr. Qamrul Islam Siddiqui was a visionary leader. He was well known for transformational leadership role and management techniques in the bureaucratic
setup. He used to share his vision with his team members, and motivated them to achieve goals despite the constraints. In the bureaucratic environment, shared visions and hand-holding, the virtues that made Mr. Siddiqui a distinguished member in the bureaucratic club, are not common.
His enlightened thinking created a difference in millions of lives. Through his architecture in rural development, he contributed directly to emancipation of millions of people. Not too many jfrdfdskibh&s'frf as successful as he was.
For his outstanding contribution to nation building, he was awarded the Poet Jasimuddin Gold Medal, IEB Gold Medal, Sher-e-Bangla Gold Medal, Engineer's Gold Medal and JICA scholarship. The World Bank declared him "Person ofthe year" in 1999.
We have lost a creative executor. We have lost a person who could demonstrate that, amidst all the constraints, a person "with passion in the heart and fire in the belly" can win against the odds.
Mamun Rashid is a columnist for The Daily Star