Nuremberg Int'l HR Award for a Bangladeshi Amirul Haque Amin, an activist dedicated to promote workers' rights in the textile and garment industries in Bangladesh, has been awarded the prestigious Nuremberg International Human Rights Award 2015. This has been announced by the Jury in Nuremberg (in Germany) on 28th September 2014.

Amin is the president and co-founder of the National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF), a platform of trade unions in Bangladesh. The NGWF has been committed to promote rights and dignity of workers in the export-oriented readymade garment sector since 1984.

Forthe first time, after its introduction in 1995, the Award has been announced to an activist who has been fighting for social and economic human rights, the Jury mentioned. By doing so, the Jury would like to draw attention to three important issues referring to RMG sector in Bangladesh: protection of workers' rights at local level, consumers' conscience and awareness for responsible consumption and promotion of economic ethics. This recognition to a workers' rights activist in Bangladesh has come at a time when the issue of workplace safety and security and workers' access to freedom of association and collective bargaining have come to a forefront following two major industrial disasters, e.g. fire atTazreen Fashions in 2012 and collapse of Rana Plaza in 2013.

Uttam Das, Ph.D.

Advocate (Attorney)

Supreme Court of Bangladesh Dhaka

Benefits of organic food Organic foods are foods that are grown from crops under organic agricultural practices without using chemical fertiliser and insecticides. Similarly, eggs and meat from poultry and livestock raised under natural environment, not under captured unnatural condition, are also organic foods. It has been found through research that organic eggs are good for human health.

It is true that crops grown through organic agriculture is good for health but the problem is crop production in this system is rather difficult, while the yield is also not enough to meet our needs. Still we can go for homestead and roof gardening to produce some vegetables for our own consumption. Large farms can raise poultry birds under open environment to produce organic eggs without feeding the birds artificial chemical based feeds.

Professor M Zahidul Haque

Department of Agricultural Extension & Information System, SAU, Dhaka

Proposed hike in gas price exorbitant

I became astonished to read the news item, “Household gas may get costlier" published on TDS, September 23, 2014. It is stated that the government has prepared a proposal to raise the household gas prices and after the hike, it might be Tk 750 or 1000 for using a double burner stove, whereas a household currently has to payTk450 a month for a double burner stove.

I don't get what kind of price hike is this, from 450 to 750/1000! Does the government think this is an affordable price for the middle and lower class people of the country? I don't want to talk about the upper class because they always get the privileges, but how on earth someone can propose such an abnormal hike of gas? The government showed the reason that they are doing this with a view to reducing consumers' reliance on piped gas and encouraging them to use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). But they are not considering the fact that currently, an LPG cylinder costs between Tk 1300 and Tk 1400. The government should keep their lame excuses to themselves before befooling the people by showing weird reasons for arranging a hike.

Momtazlmam

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