QUITE a number of studies on the various aspects of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge are in circulation. Metaphorically, this bridge has been dubbed a dream bridge that has given a new lease of life to 30 million people in the southern belt of Bangladesh. The completion of this 6.15-kilometre-long bridge, at a cost of Tk 30,000 crores or so, and that also without any aid, went to add further meat to the metaphor. Several research observations tend to show that on account of this large-scale project, the economic benefits it would generate would be substantial, surging the southern region鈥檚 GDP by 2.5 per cent and the overall national GDP by 1.23 per cent. Of course, the positive impacts of other socio-economic indicators in the offing, including a passage to South and Southeast Asian countries, should be duly factored in while reaching out to an overall assessment.
Historically, evaluation of projects has mostly revolved around economic costs and benefits, thus paying little or no attention to the non-economic aftermaths, say human security or environmental outcomes. However, an exception to the traditional way of measuring the benefits and costs of a project has been developed recently by a group of researchers from the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies. They took cognizance of the missing links and decided to put the overall picture on an empirical plane. Based on their research findings, they brought out a book titled Development-Human Security Nexus A Study on Padma Bridge Resettlement Areas (2024).
The attempt has been to fill in the research gap, as mentioned before. The researchers drew on empirics coming out of conducting a survey in and around Padma Bridge resettlement areas. The purpose of the study was to examine the development and human security paradigms, along with other socio-economic issues. The moot question was whether the Padma Multipurpose Bridge, project could usher a horizon of sustainable livelihood journeys for the people resettled (called People after the Project, PAPS). Ipso facto, they used a mixed-method approach, coupled with key information interviews and drawing upon expert opinions, to arrive at conclusions. Field data were generated from 3,012 households in three affected districts, eg, Mawa from Munshigonj, Jajira, and Shariatpur Sadar from Shariatpur district, and Shibchar from Madaripur district. It examined five resettlement camps to bring out diverse perspectives from the local community, their livelihood patterns in pre- and post-Padma Bridge realities, as well as human security and environmental concerns in this region.
However, the feature of the book for which it seemingly stands out as distinct from other investigations of the same kind is the light it attempts to shed on the concept of human security and its impacts on people displaced and resettled. These issues have often been sidelined in evaluation or feasibility studies in the context of large-scale projects. Past studies on such large-scale projects allegedly anchored on socio-economic impacts to the neglect of broader notions of human security such as economic, food, health, environmental, political, personal and community security of the displaced.
A roughly 200-page hard-bound book, it encompasses nine chapters of diverse dimensions. Besides methodological and introductory issues, other chapters comprise Development and Padma Multipurpose Bridge: Local Context (Chapter 5); Development and Environmental Consequences (Chapter 6); Human Security and Padma Multipurpose Bridge: Local Community Perspective (Chapter 7); Linkages between Development and Human Security in the Context of Padma Multipurpose Bridge (Chapter 8); and Padma Multipurpose Bridge: Lessons Learned and Way Forward (Chapter 9). All the deliberations seemingly lead to the conclusion that the construction of the bridge and the subsequent resettlement plan have had positive impacts on people鈥檚 livelihoods in terms of wages, transportation and connectivity, resettlement design and monetary compensation, health and education. At the same time, it highlights initiatives taken by the authorities by addressing context-specific approaches, prevention-oriented approaches, and a comprehensive approach to human security.
Quite opposite to conventional concerns, researchers observed that displaced people benefitted with due compensation, resettlement in better land, and accessing all basic amenities of life, even better than post- Padma Multipurpose Bridge periods. Using a sustainable livelihood framework, as espoused by DFID, the researchers explored the human security of the resettled population on a wider spectrum, including freedom from pervasive threats to people鈥檚 rights and safety of life and a life free of fear and want.
By and large, the book argues that the care given to displaced people by the Padma Multipurpose Bridge authorities could serve as an example of how well to deal with displaced people to allow them to live with dignity. The chapters contained in the book establish the linkages between development and security, which hold immense importance not only for Padma Multipurpose Bridge but also for future large-scale projects.
However, much remains to be done to improve livelihoods, avoid environmental damage, and enhance human security through the adoption of various policies and projects. A panoply of policy suggestions, along with a few project proposals, is on board to streamline and strengthen the positive impacts of large-scale projects now and in the future.
The book should be a good read for researchers and policymakers, especially those who are interested in evaluating large-scale projects.
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Abdul Bayes, a former professor of economics and vice-chancellor, Jahangirnagar University, is now an adjunct faculty at East West University.