Thursday, October 31, 2019

How did the French & Indian War shape the American Revolution Essay

How did the French & Indian War shape the American Revolution - Essay Example This action by George Washington sparks the war between the French and the Indians1. The impact of fighting both the Indians and the French is too enormous for the British government. To recover the enormous debts incurred, the British under King George introduces ridiculous taxes on the Native Americans. The move by the British to impose heavy taxes on the Native Americans elicits anger amongst the Americans, who come up with their reactionary tactics. To show their anger, the Americans start to boycott the British commodities that were highly taxed. Protest groups break off and start protesting against the brutal imposition of taxation on the American soil2. Sam Adams, an outspoken leader, leads protests in parts of Boston. Most officials from the American counties join sooth and demand for justice and fair representation. More reactionary actions from the Americans start slowly and become a very strong movement of revolution against the

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Socrates - A Great Teacher Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Socrates - A Great Teacher - Essay Example Therefore, the society in which Socrates lived was the perfect place for his kind of philosophy, which was centred on the idea of teaching about the power of humanity and human law and justice rather than the wrath or benevolence of the Gods. I feel that I can learn from this because even though I am a person who has religion, I think it is important to focus on humanity as well as God. Socrates believed in superhuman power but equated it directly with humanity. The philosopher recognized that his actions were in some way controlled by the moral hesitation that preceded them or the moral retribution that followed them if they were negative. He thought that the voice inside of him that caused him to stop and reflect before performing a certain action was divine, and I think that this is a good lesson to learn and apply in everyday life, by following my conscience. Socrates saw the human conscience as a gift from the gods and therefore continued an expanding humanist tradition in his s ociety by relegating more and more power to humanity as being inspired by the Gods, rather than being directly and explicitly controlled, monitored, punished, and rewarded by them. I think that I can learn from Socrates’ humanism, because he can teach people to be good, and he seems to have good expectations for society. I want to learn this kind of optimism and apply it to my own life. More and more throughout his life, Socrates began to see that goodness was not a reflection of divine destiny or a means to personal advancement, but was inspired by a sense of universal justice. To Socrates, being just to all meant goodness. This reflects the sense of fairness or balance that was a central feature in Socrates’ philosophy, which can be compared to some of the Stoics’ argumentative and unbalanced polemical perspectives previously. I agree that fairness and justice are important things. Most important, Socrates is a great teacher, because he teaches his students  to question.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Racial Profiling

Racial Profiling Racial Profiling Abstract This manuscript will take an in-depth look at racial profiling. Many studies have been conducted on this type of practice and a few of these studies will be observed. Concerns for racial profiling such as racial tax, impacts on minorities, and police citizen partnerships will also be addressed and how it affects the individual, criminal justice field and the community. Some sanctions will also be discussed to find ways on how to combat this practice. Finally the cases of Atwater v. City of Lago Vista and Terry v. Ohio will be compared. Racial Profiling The debate involving racial profiling is been around for many years. There have been many studies of about this issue over the past 20 years. Some researchers believe that racial profiling does not have a place in the criminal justice system. Although others disagree with this claim and believe that it does have a place in the criminal justice field and does stop crime. This manuscript will take an in-depth look at the constitutional issues, correctional initiatives, and compare two cases dealing with racial profiling. Literature Review Higgins, Gabbidon and Vito (2009) conduct a study focusing on the public opinion on racial profiling during traffic stops. They collected data from Gallup there runs a poll every few years on the perception of whites and minorities on several issues. The sample size was 2,000 randomly selected Americans of many different races and ethnic backgrounds. Dependent variables were tested by using two different questions that include the following: â€Å"is it ever justifiable for police use racial or ethnic profiling, and if they felt that racial profiling was widespread when motorists are stop on roads and highways† (Higgins, Gabbidon, and Vito, 2009). The independent variables were tested by finding out what the relationship between each race was. The demographics for the study found that 47% of the survey respondents were male with an average income of $50,000 to $75,000. The sample also showed that 37% were black and 22% Hispanic (Higgins, Gabbidon, and Vito 2009). The results o f this study showed that there were mixed results when dealing with race relations and safety concerns. The researchers show that race relations had an influence on racial profiling, while safety did not. A study conducted by Parker, McDonald, Alpert, Smith, and Piquero (2004) focuses on the contextualized examination of racial profiling. This study basically looks at multiple studies conducted by many other researchers on the topic of racial profile. The authors conclude that community level characteristics and their relationship to racial profiling are unknown. They also argue that the clarity and meaning of racial profiling is lacking (Parker et al., 2004). The study also shows that more analysis should be done to see the relationship between police discretion and racial profiling. Kim (2004) examines how religious individuals feel towards racial profiling. The researcher collected data from the ABC News/The Washington Post Afghanistan Attack Poll #2. The sample size consisted of 1,009 adult participants ranging from the ages of 18 and older and living in the United States (Kim, 2004). In a survey that was conducted the participants were asked their religious identification, their race, and feelings about racial profiling. The researcher found that religious Americans are more likely to support the racial profiling of Muslims or people Arab descent. The author believes that this is true because of the public safety because of the events that occurred on September 11, 2001. Ramirez, Hoopes, and Quinlan (2003) also look at racial profiling in this definition after the events that occurred on September 11, 2001. They first take a look at the case of Wilkins v. Maryland State Police. This case was brought up by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) about statistics of stops done on Maryland Turnpike. It showed a big contrast in the amount driver searched by the Maryland State police because a study showed that 79.2% were African-American (Ramirez, Hoopes, and Quinlan, 2003). The authors then look at different definitions for the phrase racial profiling of pre-September 11 and post-September 11 and believe that they are not easily understood. They believe that a more distinct definition should be developed for law enforcement officials to use. Oliver (2003) discusses constitutional concerns when dealing with the topic of racial profiling. The author takes a look at Fourth Amendment and how it affects racial profiling. This article takes an in-depth look at Atwater v. City of Lago Vista. The case was brought forth because Gail Atwater felt that she was illegally stopped by police because of a race. This case made its way to the United States Supreme Court and the justices found the officers actions did not violate the Constitution. The majority of five justices said that it did not violate the Fourth Amendment because a warrantless arrest is legal for minor criminal offenses (Oliver, 2003). The author believes that this case reshaped the fourth amendment of the United States Constitution. In an article written by Simmons (2011) racial profiling is examined for some definitive solutions. The author discusses some of the harms that racial profiling has on the victims. The researcher believes that racial profiling imposes a racial tax on individuals and groups that are subject to this practice (Simmons, 2011). Other harms that the author discusses are the impacts on monitory communities, and impacts on police citizen partnerships (Simmons, 2011). The author also discusses how there have been some push for legislation to help stop racial profiling, but the legislation failed to pass. The researcher believes the more studies need to be performed to help resolve the issue of racial profiling. Smith and Alpert (2002) discuss how the use of social sciences can help the court system resolve the issues of racial profiling. The authors also discuss some of constitutional constraints when dealing with racial profiling in the legal system. The researchers state â€Å"That most stops done by law enforcement officers based solely on race are generally found unconstitutional in the courts† (Smith and Alpert, 2002). The authors also discuss some legal remedies racial profiling. They claim that this type of practice done by law enforcement officers is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. Smith and Alpert (2002) also discuss how the fourth amendment is rarely applicable in cases dealing with racial profiling because of the Supreme Courts decision of Whren v. United States. They conclude by stating the most court cases that deal with racial profiling ultimately fail because the plaintiffs do not have enough solid research. Durlauf (2006) wrote an article discussing some of the problems of racial profiling in traffic stops. The author shows that there been no benefits identified for the use of racial profile. He believes that the harm to the individuals is greater than the benefits for the use of this practice. He concludes by stating that he rejects any form profiling in traffic stops as a public policy (Durlauf, 2006). In a study conducted by Glaser (2006) the author says is difficult to test the effects of racial profiling because the data is difficult to secure. The researcher during his study simulates racial profiling to see how it affects two different groups. In his first scenario the two groups had the same incarceration rate of 10%. In this scenario no profiling is done in the results come out say the same for both groups. In the next scenario the researcher changes criminality rate for one group to 25% and lowers the second group to only 6.25% (Glaser, 2006). The researcher shows when this occurs and profiling is put into the equation that the group with a higher criminality rate is five times more likely to be incarcerated than the other group. Risse and Zeckhauser (2004) published an article looking at the moral aspect of racial profiling and how to eliminate from ones thoughts of the subject. The authors give a brief history and some conflicting definitions of the phrase racial profiling. They believe that some of the definitions that other researchers use can be confusing and hard to understand. Risse and Zeckhauser (2004) shows it is hard to prove racial profiling because law enforcement use the defense of suspicious activity not solely stopping somebody because of the race. The researchers believe that racial profiling can be used in some cases for the better public safety. The authors conclude that they do know that racial profiling does hurt the African American community, but also believe that it does lower crime rates. Discussion Constitution and Law The topic of racial profiling has constitutional and criminal law issues need to be addressed. Oliver (2003) identifies the major constitutional issues the Fourth Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment. The fourth amendment can be summarized as illegal search and seizure. In the case of Atwater v. City of Lago Vista the Supreme Court role that the police officers stop on this Atwater did not violate the fourth amendment because for minor criminal offenses a warrantless arrest is permitted (Oliver, 2003). The 14th amendment is known as the Equal Protection Clause and was developed for the protection of individuals no matter what their race or ethnic background was. This is been an issue because the 14th amendment has not been very adequate to help the victims of racial profiling. The reason for this is because racial profiling is very hard to prove. Another issue when dealing with racial profiling is many plaintiffs lose cases dealing with racial profiling because they have not gather ed enough solid research (Smith and Alpert, 2002). Concerns Many concerns can arise when dealing with racial profiling because they can affect many people. Simmons (2011) discusses three of these concerns and they are as follows: imposes a racial tax, impacts minority communities, and impacts police citizen partnerships. When dealing with racial profiling the so-called â€Å"racial tax† many people in the community can suffer psychological and emotional harms. This can be devastating to the individual because they can make them feel unwanted in the community. The community also suffers because word can spread the police officers are profiling a certain race and then trust the criminal justice field falls. The concern that racial profiling has impacts on minority communities can be justified for some of the same reasons stated above. This is also concerned because the practice of racial profiling may lead to higher incarceration rates among the community (Simmons, 2011). This can be harmful to the criminal justice field for some of the same reasons stated above and can have an impact on correctional facilities because it may cause more overcrowding. Racial profiling impacts police citizen partnerships because the trust of the police falls to the individual and the community as a whole. Another concern the may arise with the topic of racial profiling can be the issue of airport security. The impact of not using racial profiling on certain races can have a huge impact on the communities at large. This author believes that racial profiling is wrong in most cases but when it comes to protecting large groups of people should be used. If an individual board the plane with a bomb and was not racial profile this could have an impact on the criminal justice system as well. The country as a whole may feel that the criminal justice system do not do their job properly in stopping such an attack. One more concern could be the racial profiling of the teacher at a University. This can impact the victim because it makes them feel not welcomed at the institution because of the race and ethnic background. If students do not trust the teacher just because of their race, this can have an impact on the school community because lawsuits may arise. These lawsuits in turn will have an impact on the criminal justice field is a may tie up the courts. Initiatives Some initiative should be put into place to stop the practice of racial profiling. Most of the public believes the racial profiling should not be used in any shape or form. In order to combat this some sort of punishments may need to be put in place to stop profiling. One way to combat this practice could be to impose community service on individuals who commit racial profiling. This would not be a hard punishment to impose because it could help the community as a whole. Some logistical issues would be to find the appropriate project for the individual to work on. This project could be in the minority community that the individual committed racial profiling against. A second initiative to help stop the practice of racial profiling is to impose fines. This would be easy to apply once the law was set into place. One of the issues that may occur though, is setting the correct amount of money they should be fined against the individual who committed racial profiling. A third and final initiative could be shaming. This may be harder to implement because it is not well-known to the community. One of the logistical issues that may arise is getting adults to cooperate with the initiative. Most adults are not going to stand on the side of the road holding a sign that says â€Å"Im a racial profiler†. These types’ individuals would rather pay the fine first. Another issue is to find the appropriate place to hold shaming, such as a community square or popular mall. This author believes that if shaming should occur in the community that the individual committed racial profiling. Cases There are many cases that involve racial profiling, but Atwater v. City of Largo Vista is one that has been studied many times. Gail Atwater was driving a pickup truck and was pulled over due to what the officer said was a seatbelt violation (Oliver, 2003). This is brought forth to the Supreme Court as a racial profiling case because a few weeks before the same officer pulled over Gail Atwater for the same violation. The issue was that all the passengers were belted in properly. Although the seatbelt violation on how to find $50, the Atwater family felt that they were racially profiled. The Supreme Court later ruled that the case did not involve racial profiling because warrantless arrests are permitted and minor offenses (Oliver, 2003). In a similar case of Terry v. Ohio police officer stopped three men that he thought and committed the crime just moments before. When the officer asked what their name was, they just kind of mumbled. The officer then proceeded to search the men and found a weapon on one of them in an inside pocket. Two the men were charged with carrying a concealed weapon and taken to the police station. The defense for the two men one of the charges dropped because of illegal search and seizure. This case made to the Supreme Court and later developed a Terry stop. This was the case that did not involve racial profiling but involved reasonable suspicion. The outcomes of these two trials did affect individuals because in one case someone was fined, and in the other they were put in jail. Conclusion As discussed throughout this manuscript there are many problems and concerns that arise when dealing with racial profiling. This type of practice is still used very hard to prove. The concerns that were mentioned previously are one of the reasons that racial profiling should be stopped. This author believes that more research needs to be done in order to find the right way to combat this practice. References Durlauf, S., (2006). Assessing racial profiling. The Economic Journal. 116. Glaser, J., (2006). The efficacy and effect of racial profiling: a mathematical simulation approach. Journal of Policy Analysis Management. 5(2), 395-416. Higgins, G., Gabbidon, S., Vito, G., (2009). Exploring the influence of race relations in public safety concerns on public support for racial profiling during traffic stops. International Journal of Police Science Management. 12(1). 12-22. Kim, P., (2004). Conditional morality? The American Behavioral Scientist. 47(7), 879-895. Oliver, S., (2003). The role profiling American society: racial profiling: Atwater v. City of Largo Vista: the disappearing fourth amendment and its impacts on racial profiling. Journal of Law and Social Challenges. 5(1). Parker, K., Macdonald, J., Alpert, G., Smith, M., Piquero, A., (2004). A contextual study of racial profiling. The American Behavioral Scientist. 47(7), 943-962. Ramirez, D., Hoopes, J., Quinlan, t., (2003). Define racial profiling in a post September 11 world. The American Civil Law Review. 40(3), 1195-1233 Risse, M., Zeckhauser, R., (2004). Racial profling. Philosophy and Public Affairs. 32(2), 131- 170. Smith, M., Alpert G., (2002). Searching for direction: courts, social science, in the adjudication of racial profiling claims. Justice Quarterly. 19(4). 673-703 Simmons, K., (2011). Beginning to end racial profiling: definitive solutions to an elusive problem. Washiington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justive. 18(25).

Friday, October 25, 2019

Hemmingway-hills Like White El Essay -- essays research papers

Writing styles changed drastically from the nineteenth to twentieth centuries. The nineteenth century had authorial intervention and authors wrote about things they had never experienced, where as the twentieth century had a lot of hidden symbols and images and writings were more generally based on events in which the authors had been a part of. Many people thought these “hard to understand writings would be a temporary phase of literature, but authors such as Ernest Hemingway wrote in such a branding way that this writing style has been a constant example of a powerful literary expression.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hemingway was one of the best users of symbols and images. In the story Hills Like White Elephants, he has hidden symbols behind almost everything in the story. The main symbol in this story is the abortion. This is known in the story as the “simple operation.'; The whole story is about this couple that is considering an abortion. Each little part of the abortion is another symbol. The “white elephants'; showed something they didn’t want, in this case the baby. Even the smallest things, like the alcohol, symbolized old ways (beer) and something new (Anes del Toro) in the two peoples relationship.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This story also gives you images of the happenings going on in the story. “The station between two lines of rails'; gave you ...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Modern Gadgets: A Boon or Bondage? Essay

Modern gadgets: really a boon for us? Brain-the biggest weapon, the mammoth power human has. Testimony of above statement is the present scenario. Just open the sea of imagination and imagine what old time was, now open your eyes and find yourself in this modern world. It is impossible to swallow this immense gap at one go, but if we ta Premium726 Words3 Pages Modern gadgets have made us slaves Since the beginning of civilization man has been making things for his use, like tools etc. As the civilization progressed, man’s effort also increased to make various gadgets. How ever, the speed of making various gadgets got increased The fastest in 20 century in European countries. The prese Premium1182 Words5 Pages see more:life without modern gadgets Modern gadgets Modern gadgets have made us complete slaves to machines. There is no work which cannot be done without the assistance of machines and there is not a single area of human activity where machines don’t have to be used. No one can deny the fact that gadgets have not only simplified our lives but also Premium389 Words2 Pages Modern gadgets: really a boon for us? Brain-the biggest weapon, the mammoth power human has. Testimony of above statement is the present scenario. Just open the sea of imagination and imagine what old time was, now open your eyes and find yourself in this modern world. It is impossible to swallow this immense gap at one go, but if we ta Premium346 Words2 Pages Modern gadgets There is no work which cannot be done without the assistance of machines and there is not a single area of human activity where machines don’t have to be used. No one can deny the fact that gadgets have not only simplified our lives but also made them more comfortable and luxurious. But on the con Premium404 Words2 Pages Man a slave to modern gadgets BlackBerry BlackBerry is a line of mobile e-mail and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM) since 1999. BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming Premium646 Words3 Pages The church serving the ecumenical community through the use of information and communication technology and modern customer care principles. | The Church serving the ecumenical community through the use of information and communication technology and modern customer care principles | | by Clifford Stanley Ferguson MBA (Management) SRU (Recognition for Prior Learning); BTH (Theology) UNISA BCS (Computer Science) SRU (Recognition Premium89719 Words359 Pages Man – a slave of gadgets There was a time when man used to be self-dependent for all activities of his daily living. A pair of arms and legs used to be his assistants to perform his errands. But as the time passed by, brain-the biggest weapon, the mammoth power human has made possible the invention various easygoing gadgets Premium1206 Words5 Pages Morden gadgets The gadget is a device that is able to perform one or several functions. Gadgets often have funky designs but have useful functions as well. It is also being referred as gizmos. The history of gadgets can be traced back to the early 1800s. There is a wide variety of gadget including GPS system, USB Premium483 Words2 Pages The modern banking system (where does money come from?) The Modern Banking System (Where does money come from?) â€Å"If the debt which the banking companies owe be a blessing to anybody, it is to themselves alone, who are realizing a solid interest of eight or ten per cent on it. As to the public, these companies have banished all our gold and silver medi Premium5206 Words21 Pages Gadgets TABLE OF CONTENT |NO |TITLE |PAGE | | |Abstract | Premium2022 Words9 Pages Effect of electronic gadgets to students studying habits ELECTRONIC GADGET TO STUDENTS STUDYING HABITS Introduction In the year where electronic gadgets are not yet invented like computers, students are not yet engage in activities using technologies. Students rely on books and visit library facilities to study, read their notes and review their scho Premium838 Words4 Pages Elements in the modern world ELEMENTS IN THE MODERN WORLD This article is about the discovery of rare-earth elements and their important use in today’s modern world. These elements were first discovered in Ytterby, a village close to Stockholm. In 1787, Carl Arrhenius, a geologist, found a heavy black rock and decided to Premium564 Words3 Pages Effects of electronic gadgets to students studying habits Effects of electronic gadgets 1 EFFECTS OF ELECTRONIC GADGETS TO STUDENTS STUDYING HABITS Effects of electronic gadgets to students studying habits Jea Bianca L. Conge Pateros Catholic School Gadgets are destruction 2 Abstract Almost all of the students especially high schoo Premium1197 Words5 Pages Gadgets There is no longer any argument that the universally ubiquitous cell phone has become as indispensible to our daily lives as clothes and pizza. Indeed, the cellhas virtually acquired the dimensions of an extra limb, impossible to discard even if one wanted to. Isn’t technology wonderful? Well, not Premium1973 Words8 Pages Modern technology Modern Technology Improves People’s Lives We are living in a decade that alters every minute. People’s lives nowadays have changed so much because of the advance of modern technology on which people have a lot of different perspectives. Some people believe that modern technology has brought us Premium5456 Words22 Pages Gadgets Disadvantages of Ipad in Education Although the iPad has many advantages in the classroom, it also has disadvantages. The following disadvantages were noted by students and education professionals alike. * While Apple claims that it’s price tag of $499 to $799 is affordable and modest, to t Premium4332 Words18 Pages Changes in the working patters in the modern world Changes in the working patterns in the modern world In recent years, there have been tremendous changes in working patterns. The extensive use of modern technology due to increased availability and affordability of computers and fax machines has allowed for greater flexibility in people’s work Premium351 Words2 Pages Modern living has made the people weak Modern living has made people of India weak, unhealthy and disease prone†¦Modern living means adopting the western culture, smoking, drinking, eating pizzas and burgers, etc.Also working at night times in a BPO or a Call Centre is now a days modern living†¦..But this makes u obese and also mentall Premium2025 Words9 Pages Eu yan sang- marketing to modern asian consumer ational University of Singapore Business School Master of Business Administration Marketing Management (BMA 5009) Group Final Project: Marketing Eu Yan Sang to the Young, Modern Singapore Consumer 8 November 2010 TABLE OF CO TE TS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Padma Bridge

1. Overview Padma Bridge is one of major outstanding infrastructure required for balanced economic development of Bangladesh. It is anticipated that the gross domestic product of the would increase by 2 percent once the bridge was constructed. The bridge, which would connect the southwest region with the rest of the country, could be used for the trans-Asian route; the minister said adding â€Å"The Bridge will help gear up industrialisation in the region too. Environmental impact of the bridge would be assessed during the preparation of design. Government is endeavouring to start construction of the proposed Padma Bridge in 2011 to comple it by 2014. The bridge to be built at an estimated more than twenty thousand crore TK would be, the longest bridge in the country with 6. 15km length and 25m width, he added. The bridge will have four lanes and a railroad in the middle. The bridge will also have a gas transmission pipeline, power transmission line and telecommunication cable. The Jamuna Multi-Purpose Bridge Authorities (JMBA) that looked after large bridge projects, in a study in 2005 estimated that 918. 76 hectares of land would be needed to be acquired on both the sides of Padma Bridge. The land acquisition cost is estimated at 3. 2 billion taka (about 46 million U. S. dollars), said the study. According to a survey by JICA, nearly 30,000 people will lose their lands due to land acquisition for construction of the bridge. The 6. 5 km long 22-metre wide, four lane bridge on the river Padma connecting Mawa (35km south of Dhaka) in Munshiganj with Jazira in Madaripur is also likely to contribute hugely to the functioning of the Mongla Port in Bagerhat, the second seaport of the country that fails to attract cargo ships owing to poor communications. The decision to construct the bridge was taken back in 2001 but dilly-dally over selecting the construction sites delayed the process. 2. INTRODUCTION The three major rivers of Bangladesh – the Padma, Brahmaputra-Jamuna and the Meghna divide the country into four principal regions such as north-west, north central, eastern and south-west regions. The Padma River separates the South-west region from the capital city and requires time consuming ferry crossings to major destinations. At present, transportation of passengers and freight across the river is by ferries and to a lesser extent by launches and manually-operated boats, but their services are grossly inadequate in both capacity and service level. The existing ferry services involve long and unpredictable waiting time at terminals lacking basic service facilities. They are prone to suspension orcancellation due to flood, fog and inclement weather conditions. The proposed Padma Bridge is expected to make cross-Padma transport more reliable and drastically reduce the travel time and cost across the river. The proposed bridge plans to build a multipurpose crossing with additional utilities like rail, telephone, gas and power lines across the Padma. It is designed to remove the last major physical barrier in the road connection between Dhaka and the South-west region of Bangladesh, where about one quarter of the population of Bangladesh is living. The bridge will shorten the distance from the South-west to Dhaka by 100 km and travelling time will considerably be reduced. The project is viewed as a very important infrastructure and transportation network, which will hugely facilitate social, economic and industrial development of this relatively underdeveloped region of the country. The padma Bridge will help to stimulate economic activity in the SW region by providing a reliable and rapid transport connection. It is estimated in the feasibility study that the project will increase the GDP by 1. 2% and that of South-West Region by 2. 3%. The Padma Bridge is on the Asian Highway Route A-1 and Trans-Asian Railway Route. When the railway will be effectively connected, the Padma Bridge will contribute to the multimodal international transport network for the Eastern Region of the Indian sub-continent and substantial benefit to GoB for bi-lateral cargo movement between India and Bangladesh. 3. PROJECT COMPONENTS Among the project components main bridge is by far the prime component of the project covering about 50% of the project cost. The main components of the Padma Multi-Purpose Bridge Project consist of: * A 6. 15km long two-level steel truss main bridge. (four-lane divided highway on top and single track rail on the bottom deck); * The Approach Road to the bridge consisting of a 12. 4 km four-lane divided highway and includes five minor bridges of 150~270m length over local waterways, 21 drainage box culvert and 8 local road underpasses. * Transition structures that includes the Approach Viaduct at Mawa length of 721. 50m and 756. 788m for the northbound and southbound carriageways respectively. The length of the Approach Viaduct at Janjira is 873. 250m and 797. 315m for the northbound and southbound carriageways respectively; * Bridge End Facilities on both sides of the river that includes Toll Plazas and Service Areas; * Access roads totaling about 8. 9 km and 14. 5 km of service road . * Four Resettlement villages (two on the Mawa side and two on the Janjira side). 4. MAIN BRIDGE The total length of the main bridge is 6150m and the main bridge is connected to approach viaducts on both ends and overall width of the bridge is 22. m. The main bridge is in the form of composite steel truss with two levels, railway at lower deck level and highway at upper deck level suitable for fast track construction. Longitudinally, the main truss is in the form of a continuous warren truss and the concrete roadway slab is connected to the top chord by shear stud. The railway deck comprises longitudinal steel beams spanning between lower cross beams and a concrete railway slab which is also compositely connected to the beams. The roadway slab is reinforced concrete in the transverse direction, and is a pre-stressed concrete structure in the longitudinal direction. There are 41 spans each 150 m in length optimized in the computer program. It is sub-divided into 7 continuous bridge modules, and each module is comprised of 5 or 6 spans. At the interface between adjacent modules, a movement joint is present to accommodate the movement due to various actions. The major portion of the bridge is flat (0% vertical gradient) except at the two ends the bridge level decreases with approximately 0. 5% vertical gradient to match with the adjacent approach viaducts. The horizontal alignment of the bridge consists of straight sections, curved sections with onstant radius and short transition curves. The tightest radius is found in Module 7, where the radius is 3000 metres. 5. CROSSING REQUIREMENTS The bridge is to carry the following facilities: Highway The bridge is required to carry a dual two-lane carriageway road with a design traffic speed of 100km/hr. Each carriageway shall comprise two 3. 5 meter wide traffic lanes plus a 2. 5 meter wide hard shoulder and 650mm wide median. The bridge is intended to carry motorized vehicles only. Railway Provision shall be made for future addition of a single track broad gauge railway along the bridge. The railway is proposed to be an extension of the Indian Railways Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) and is likely to be part of the Trans-Asian Railway. The design rail speed is 160km/hr for passenger trains and 125 km/hr for freight trains. Power Transmission Line The bridge will be required to carry a high voltage power transmission line with a capacity of 400kV as part of the developing power supply network in south west Bangladesh. High Pressure Gas Transmission Line A 30 inch (76 cm) diameter gas pipe is to be carried by the bridge, which is expected to operate at a pressure of. 1135 psi. The gas pipe shall be hydro tested to a pressure of 1710 psi in accordance with procedures approved by Petrobangla. The high pressure gas main shall be designed in accordance with the requirements of Petrobangla with reference to appropriate recognized international design standards such as the American 6. BRIDGE VIADUCTS The viaduct spans are separated into the approach road and the railway viaducts. The main bridge is a two level structure which required a challenging task in the arrangement of the viaducts to separate the railway from the highway and alternative options were considered during the Scheme Design Phase of the project. There are a total of four viaducts supporting the highway, two on each side of the river. The length of the approach road viaducts ranged from 720m to 875m long and consists of 38m spans. The superstructure consists of precast, pre-tensioned concrete Super-T girders which will become the first Super-T girder structure to be constructed in Bangladesh. The Super-T girder is an economical beam commonly used on highway bridges in Australia and is becoming more widespread on projects throughout Asia. The introduction of the Super-T girder to Bangladesh presents an opportunity for future use on other projects throughout the country. There is a total of two viaducts supporting the railway, one on each side of the river. The length of the railway viaducts ranged from 2. 36km to 2. 96km and consists of 38m spans similar to the approach road viaducts. The superstructure consists of precast, post-tensioned concrete I-girders. The detailed design of the viaduct structures posed some major challenges in bridge engineering specifically involving earthquakes under soil conditions highly susceptible to significant depths of liquefaction. A multi modal response spectra analysis was used to analyse and the design the viaducts for a seismic event with a return period of 475 years. This paper describes the dynamic analysis procedure and the design features of the structure to withstand these seismic events. A transition pier is located at the interface of the viaduct spans to the river spans and supports the end spans of the main bridge, the approach road viaduct structure and the railway viaduct structure. The transition pier also provided the location for the diversion of the gas pipe, power cables and telecommunication utilities located on the main bridge whilst also enclosing an access stairwell for inspection, maintenance and emergency evacuations. 7. SITE SELECTION Four alternative bridge sites were identified as alternative locations in the following areas: Site-1:Paturia-Goalundo Site-2 : Dohar-Charbhadrasan Site-3 : Mawa-Janjira Site-4 : Chandpur-Bhedarganj Four alternative locations were examined from the view points of existing transport of the project area, traffic demand forecast, preliminary river study and technical consideration in highway planning, preliminary bridge planning, environmental & social consideration. JICA study team considers site-1 and site-3 to be most advantageous for a new fixed crossing and recommends these sites for further study until Interim report. Survey Results Estimated amount of land to be acquired is almost same (about 1,250 ha ) in both cases The number of affected households / structure varies due to differences in population density Current estimate suggests:- Mawa – Janjira 70,000 to 80,000 Paturia – Goalundo 40,000 to 45,000 Traffic Study and Economic Analysis (Main Work Items) 1) Traffic Surveys (Traffic counts, OD Survey) 2) Establishment of Future Socioeconomic Framework (Population, GDP, GRDP) 3) Traffic Demand Forecast (Target year 2025) 4) Confirmation of Economic Feasibility 5) Economic Impacts of the Padma Bridge ) Improvement of Accessibility 2) Regional Economic Development 3) Formation of International Road Network Summary of Comparisons of Two Sites from traffic and Economic Point of View Evaluation Criteria| Paturia-Goalundo| Mawa-Janjira| Traffic Demand (2025)| 19,850 vehicles/day| 41,550 vehicles/day| Economic Feasibility| EIRR=9. 6%| EIRR=16. 9%| Financial Project Cost (Million US$)| 1,26 0| 1,074| Improvement of Accessibility| (Travel time) Dhaka – Mongla Dhaka – Benapole (Beneficiary Population) Within 3 hours from Dhaka Within 4 hours from Dhaka| 4. 5 hours 4. 6 hours ,791,000 (9%) 12,738,000 (42%)| 3. 6 hours 3. 6 hours 10,417,000 (35%) 22,247,000 (74%)| Density of Feeder Roads| No big difference| Formation of International Road Network| | Asian Highway A-1. Short distance to Benapole Land Port and Mongla Sea Port| Regional Economic Development| GDP of Southwest region will increase by 18% (1. 2% /year)| GDP of Southwest region will increase by 35% (2. 3% /year)| Growth centers around the bridge sites| No big difference| Indicative Cost Paturia – Goalundo| Mawa – Janjira| US$ 1,260 million| US$ 1,074 million| Evaluation of P-G & M-J sites Evaluation Criteria | Paturia – Goalundo| Mawa – Janjira| Economic Feasibility| EIRR| 9. 6%| 16. 9%| B/C Ratio| 0. 71| 1. 81| | NPV (Mil. Taka)| -9,857| 23,140| | Regional Development| Increase of GRDP of Southwest Region| 18% up (1. 2% per year)| 35% up (2. 3% per year)| Environmental Impact| Result of IEE| No big difference| Social impact and Resettlement Issues| Households requiring relocation| 1,842| 2,635| Community structures affected| 18| 60 `| | Total population affected (both direct and indirect)| 40,000-45,000| 70,000-80,000| Preliminary RAP cost| 23. 7 mil. US$| 38. 79 mil. US$| Traffic Demand Forecast of the Padma Bridge | Traffic Volumes across PadmaRiver (both ways 2003: From Traffic Survey)| | Paturia-Goalundo| Mawa-Jajira| Cross-Padma| Light Vehicle| 572| 128| 700| Bus| 687| 227| 914| Truck| 1,217| 78| 1,295| Total| 2,476| 433| 2,909| Launch Passenger| 15,559| 9,126| 24,685| Present Traffic Movement Pattern At present, traffic at Mawa is lower than Paturia due to the following reasons: 1)    Road condition of NH 8 is now very poor. 2)    A narrow approach road to the Mawa ghat. 3)    Quality of ferry services at Mawa is lower than Paturia in general. )    No sufficient parking space for trucks. 5)    Two hour river crossing time at Mawa is significantly longer than 35 minutes of Paturia. Future Traffic Movement Pattern Future traffic movement pattern will be drastically changed if the Padma Bridge is constructed at Mawa with following reasons: 1)    Improvement of NH 8 (Dhaka – Khulna Road Project by ADB) will be completed by the end of 2004. 2)    Direct road link from Dhaka for the largest traffic demands to Khulna and Jcssore. 3)    Elimination of two hour crossing time. Criteria for Final Site Selection Preliminary results shows greater impacts In Mawa-Janjira over Paturia site   Site selection should be more on technical – engineering grounds-future safety of the bridge infrastructure   Major Impacts of the project – Irrespective of    sites   Selection of Final site Is critical to set the next agenda preparation of RAP   Task would be to minimize Impact, develop Improved policy for mitigation of adverse Impacts, management and capacity building for resettlement management   Experience of the Jamuna and other donor-funded projects will be used In the planning and Implementation of RAP for Padma . CONCLUSION The Padma multipurpose bridge is a long cherished dream of the people of the entire southern region. The bridge will link the greater Khulna, Greater Faridpoor and Greater Barisal region with the rest of the country. It will give tremendous boost to national economy as the direct driving travel distance between Dhaka and this region will be greatly redu ced and hustles and harassment people face in moving tradeable commodities to and from this region will be removed. The agro rich region of Barisal and Khulna can feed the rest of the country much easily. Mongla port can make greater contribution. Tourism industry in the picturesque mangrove forest Sundarban and marvellous sea resort Kuakata will get massive boost. Nepal, Bhutan and 7 sisters around Bangladesh may utilise this bridge to use Mongla port which will give our economy a massive shot in the arm. Padma Bridge Padma Bridge Padma Multipurpose Bridge Carries| Motor vehicles, Railway| Crosses| Padma River| Locale| Louhajong, Munshiganj to Shariatpur and Madaripur,  Bangladesh| Maintained by| Bangladesh Bridge Authority| Designer| Maunsell AECOM| Design| Truss bridge| Material| Steel| Total length| 6,150  m (20,180 ft)| Width| 21. 10  m (69. 2  ft)| The Padma Bridge is a multipurpose road-rail bridge across the Padma River to be constructed in Bangladesh. When completed it will be the largest bridge in Bangladesh and the first fixed river crossing for road traffic.It will connect Louhajong, Munshiganj to Shariatpur and Madaripur, linking the south-west of the country, to northern and eastern regions. The project covers three districts — Munshiganj (Mawa Point/North bank), Shariatpur and Madaripur (Janjira/South bank). The total area of land to be acquired and required for its components is 918 hectares. The requisition of land for the construction yard will be for six years on a rental basis. As per the new design, an additional 144. 04 ha has been identified for acquisition, bringing the total to 1062. 14 hectares. Similar essay: Padma Bridge ParagraphThis additional land is required because project site lost significant land due to erosion, for transition structures and due to a change in railway alignment. The two-level steel truss bridge will carry a four-lane highway on the upper level and a single track railway on a lower level. The project will include 6. 15  km long and 21. 10 m wide bridge,15. 1  km of approach roads, toll plazas and service area. Previous Source of Financing Project cost is estimated to be US$3. 00 billion. Funding for the project is provided by the Asian Development Bank (US$615 m), the World Bank ($1. billion), Japan International Cooperation Agency ($415 m), Islamic Development Bank ($140 m). The government also signed another $14. 84 million agreement with the IDB for the implementation of the water-supply and sanitation project in cyclone-prone coastal areas, and Abu Dhabi Development Group ($30 m). Of the total amount, the government will provide Tk 50 millio n while the rest will come in the form of project aid. The Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) invited the pre-qualification tender for the project in April 2010. Construction of the bridge was expected to commence by early 2011 and be ready for major completion in 2013 (and complete all sections by late 2015). The proposed Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project will provide direct connectivity between the central and southwestern part of the country through a fixed link on the Padma River at Mawa-Janjira points. The bridge will contribute significantly towards facilitating the social, economic and industrial development of this relatively underdeveloped region with a population of over 30 million.The area of influence of the direct benefit of the project is about 44,000  km2 or 29% of the total area of Bangladesh. Therefore, the project is viewed as very important infrastructure towards improving the transportation network and regional economic development of the country. The bridge has provisions for rail, gas, electric line and fibre optic cable for future expansion. The project will be co-financed by the government of Bangladesh, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Islamic Development Bank.The Bangladesh Bridge Authority is the executing agency of the project. Padma Bridge financing vs. word-of-mouth strategy THE Padma Bridge is a high priority national project of the Awami League government. It is a 6. 15-kilometre long and 21. 10-metre wide bridge with 15. 1-kilometre approach roads to connect the south-western districts with the capital. It will be a very important infrastructure for economic development of more than 30 million people. The construction work of the $2. 9 billion project was expected to begin in 2012 with financial assistance of the World Bank ($1. billion), the Asian Development Bank ($615 million), the Japan International Cooperation Agency ($400 million) and the Islamic Devel opment Bank ($140 million). The government is a co-financer that has already spent Tk  15 billion on land acquisition and rehabilitation projects. However, the construction work became uncertain when the World Bank suspended its $1. 2 billion credit line last year alleging corruption conspiracy against Bangladeshi officials and executives of a Canadian firm. Considering the uncertainty of the World Bank financing, the government looked for an alternative source and almost confirmed a $2. billion Malaysian fund. Meanwhile, the bank, after almost one year of unsuccessful dealings, cancelled the agreement on June 29. It was usual for the ministers and high officials to react against the bank’s accusation. However, the government standing was ambiguous when the finance minister kept the World Bank chapter open to get the decision reviewed. An alternative deal with a Malaysian company went out of the frame when the prime minister announced that the bridge would be built with dom estic fund, eight days after the World Bank decision.Meanwhile, the word-of-mouth strategy in political game became dominant to whip up nationalistic sentiments. Moreover, come business organisations congratulated the prime minister, advertising their commitment to investing in the project. Padma Bridge with Own Fund The government will build the Padma bridge with its own funds and construction work will begin in the current fiscal year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced in parliament. She said the mega project, estimated to cost around Tk 23,000 crore, would be completed within fiscal year 2015-16.The prime minister was delivering her concluding speech in the budget session of the House, which was prorogued last evening. She urged the global lenders not to put up â€Å"unnecessary obstacles† to Bangladesh's development efforts. Hasina's announcement came nine days after the World Bank pulled out of the bridge project, citing a corruption conspiracy. In her address, she sketched out how her government would arrange the money for the project from various sources.Terming â€Å"unprecedented† the response she had received from people in the last few days in support of the government's plan for building the bridge with local resources, Hasina said she was overwhelmed by the way they had expressed their enthusiasm. She added: â€Å"We will not bow to anybody. We can in no way accept the huge damage the World Bank has done to Bangladesh on lame excuses. No Bangalee can accept the allegation of corruption by the World Bank when not a single penny was released for the project. Criticising the WB for delaying her government's move to build the bridge, she said, â€Å"The construction cost has increased due to the delay. I will ask the finance minister to seek compensation from the World Bank. † Hasina also accused the global lender of instigating other lending agencies, including the Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank and Jica, not to provide funds for the Padma bridge project. HOW TO RAISE FUNDS The premier said the government had lately estimated the construction cost of the bridge on a year-to-year basis.According to the estimate, Tk 3,197 crore will be needed in the current fiscal year, Tk 7,868 crore in 2013-14, Tk 7,786 crore in 2014-15 and Tk 3,785 crore in 2015-16 to complete the project. Citing the allocation of Tk 55,000 crore in the ADP for this fiscal year, Hasina said she had already discussed the matter with some ministries, and they had said they would not take their entire allocations in the current year's budget. â€Å"It is possible to save Tk 24,000 crore from the ADP. For this, we will have to be economical and may have to cut some development work under different ministries.But again, construction of the Padma bridge is also development work and will generate employment for many,† she said. The government would be able to begin the construction work soon, and will not waste any more time. The prime minister said the government had earmarked Tk 1,500 crore for infrastructure development and Tk 3,000 crore in the public-private partnership fund. Besides, a certain amount of money had been allocated for the Padma bridge in the budget. The government had also decided to issue sovereign bonds to collect $750 million.Besides, her government might levy a surcharge as was done for the construction of the Jamuna bridge. â€Å"We will also welcome any foreign investment in this project,† she added. Giving a breakdown of the Padma bridge costs, Hasina said Tk 15,000 crore would be spent for construction of the main portion of the bridge; Tk 7,200 crore for river training; Tk 1,281 crore for building Jajira approach road; and Tk 310 crore for Mawa approach road. She said her government had already spent Tk 1, 500 crore on land acquisition and rehabilitation purposes. The Consequent Impact of Constructing Padma Bridge in Own FundBe that as it may, the question i s whether the prime minister’s plan to construct the Padma Bridge without external finance is realistic. According to the estimates, Tk  32 billion will be needed in 2012-13, Tk  79 billion in 2013-14, Tk  78 billion in 2014-15 and Tk  38 billion in 2015-16. The current year’s requirement, as announced, will be redirected from the annual development programme. The government also plans to issue sovereign bonds to collect $750 million and other accumulations will be defined in future. However, mobilisation of domestic resources has hardly been impressive in the past.Regardless of the government rhetoric, the public-private partnership has not yet taken off although Tk  30 billion was allocated three years ago. In such circumstances, if the government continues to redirect funds from the ADP for the Padma Bridge, other projects will certainly be crowded out. The government is already reeling under high subsidy burden and inadequate allocation for its thrust sec tors. Although the inflow of remittance has kept foreign exchange reserve adequate, foreign aid for public projects has dwindled over the years. As such, receipt of foreign direct investment is much needed.In fact, did we not welcome the World Bank’s credit line for the Padma bridge project? Was it not highlighted in the news media? Amidst the raging global economic crisis, the government needs to realise the necessity of the soft loan from the World Bank. It needs to also have a closer looks at the country’s institutional capacity to finance such a colossal project without import of materials and without a foreign company. We might be able to prove our national capacity bypassing the World Bank, but the domestic financing for the project is highly likely to have some negative impacts on the economy.The additional outflow of foreign currency for import of materials will raise the price of dollar for which the estimated cost of Tk  230 billion is expected to increase to up to Tk  300 billion. Moreover, fund accumulation from non-residents may not be steady because of downtrend in the current account balance. The current account balance, which was 3. 7 per cent of the gross domestic product in 2009-10 and is projected to decrease to 0. 3 per cent of the GDP in 2012-13, could slide to a negative value.On the other hand, devaluation of the local currency will raise the price of imported products and will contribute to inflation. In addition, it will continue to provide additional tax burden on the taxpayers. In this context, the government’s strategy to enrich domestic capacity needs to be complemented with a friendly compliance strategy to handle donors and foreign investors. It is reported that the Anti-Corruption Commission failed to comply with the World Bank’s requirement due to its limitation with domestic policy.However, what was the limitation for the ministers to control corruption of their personal secretary or officials. If and when domestic resources will be allocated for the multi-billion dollar project, will the designated officials and implementing agents hesitate to divert billions of taka to their personal accounts? Ultimately, the government needs to address the corruption-related problem first and foremost. To this end, mere assertions of commitment will not be enough; they have to be complemented with decisive and demonstrative actions.Meanwhile, people will look forward to the dream of Padma Bridge coming to reality. So, in shortly if we summarized all the disadvantages of own funding for Padma Bridge, we could get:- * Mobilization of domestic resources is not impressive in our country, so there must be a huge need of importing resources. * We would need more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), because foreign exchange is not adequate in Bangladesh. * Domestic funding would prove costly for the economy in the long run. * The additional outflow of foreign currency for import of materials will raise the price of dollar. Fund accumulation from non-residents may not be steady because of downtrend in the current account balance. * Devaluation of the local currency will raise the price of imported products and will contribute to inflation. We should not build the Padma Bridge just for the sake of building it. It has to be cost-effective, financially viable and above all economically rewarding. All of these depend on minimisation of direct and indirect costs of building the bridge with domestic finance as contemplated by the government.The first and foremost issue in this context is to be fully aware of the possible risks and costs involved in domestic financing, and find a way out to minimise them before starting the construction work. What are the possible risks that may escalate both direct and indirect costs of building the bridge with domestic funding? First comes the direct resource cost, which was estimated to be around US$ 3. 0 billion or nearly Tk 24,500 crore. Since the decision was taken to build the bridge on the basis of the feasibility study carried out by an independent agency, it can be assumed that it was found cost effective.The main indirect cost will be the impact on other economic activities and the balance of payments as a result of diverting resources, both in terms of local and foreign currency. Economists have already expressed their concern about these indirect costs. Although the private sector cannot grow adequately if the infrastructural inadequacies are not removed, they will not build infrastructure on their own as its benefit cannot be fully internalised and priced properly to recover the cost. This is what the economists call the market failure, which shifts the onus on the government.In principle, there is nothing wrong in diverting resources to build infrastructure by government which will ultimately help the private sector. The main point is to keep diversion of resources within tolerable limits so that it will not hur t the private sector significantly by squeezing the resources available to them. In the absence of sufficient sources for revenue earning, the government will have to borrow money from the banking sector to finance the bridge, limiting the resources available for the private sector to borrow from, which the economists call ‘crowding out effect. It will also increase the interest rate raising the cost of credit for the private sector. The size of government borrowings and the extent of private sector's reliance on the banking sector will determine the actual crowding out effect. Another potential indirect effect of government borrowings may work through the stock market. When the banks are faced with liquidity crisis to give loans to the private sector, they may decide to withdraw from the stock market causing another nose-dive of stock price, which has just started bottoming up after a major debacle.How government borrowing affects overall growth in a developing country, where the private sector is always constrained by infrastructural constraints, and government is the sole provider of infrastructure, is an empirical question. Unfortunately, this issue is not adequately researched in Bangladesh. There is only one study carried out by Bangladesh Bank a couple of years ago, which shows that private investment in Bangladesh is not affected significantly by rising interest rates. This finding makes it difficult to guesstimate crowding out effects of government borrowing in Bangladesh.Moreover, 6. 3 per cent GDP growth in the last fiscal in the midst of hue and cry about the crowding out effect does not provide any clear indication of how significantly government borrowing affects overall growth in the country. Yet, the government cannot and should not completely shrug-off the likely effects of its domestic borrowing. It should leave no stone unturned to keep its borrowing from domestic sources as low as possible. It should rethink a new strategy to keep the yearly requirement of resources to meet the cost at a tolerable level.One way of doing it would be to extend the construction period to five years from three years as currently envisioned. The total cost of Padma Bridge will have both local and foreign components; the former would require local currency, and the latter foreign currency. Let us review and compare the yearly requirement of taka and US dollar under different scenarios. No clear public information is available on the relative share of these two components. According to an expert, foreign component is about 40 per cent of the total cost.That means the government would need approximately US$1. 2 billion and Tk 148. 50 billion to construct the bridge, if the total cost is $3. 0 billion as originally estimated. Let us increase these amounts by 10 per cent, to $1. 32 billion and Tk 160. 38 billion, to account for inflation (as the start of the construction work has been delayed by more than a year. ) With this upward adjust ment, the yearly requirement in local currency will be about Tk 32. 08 billion if the bridge is constructed in five years. This amount will increase to Tk 53. 6 billion, if the bridge is constructed in three years. Similarly, the yearly requirement in foreign currency will be US$264 million if the construction period is five years, US$440 million in case of three years. If the total cost is equally divided between local and foreign components, yearly requirement will be Tk 44. 55 billion, if the bridge is constructed in three years and Tk 26. 73 billion in case of five years. Similarly, under this alternative scenario, yearly requirement will be US$550 million and $330 million respectably.Yearly requirements of taka and US dollar under different scenarios are shown in the table. As can be seen, yearly requirement of taka under any scenario does not exceed Tk 53. 46 billion. This should not be a very big problem to collect this money without any significant crowding effect in the eco nomy to negatively affect the growth. Also, even if there is some level of crowding out effect, part of it will be compensated by the multiplier effect of government spending in the construction of the bridge.Some adjustments in the annual development programmes (which always involve some inefficient and politically motivated projects) will also help reduce the negative effects on resource diversion. Besides, compromise with some level of growth in the construction phase of the Bridge which will foster regional equity and growth (as evidenced from Banghabandhu Bridge) will not be entirely unjustifiable from economic point of view. Inter-temporal optimisation of benefits always includes some trade-off between present and future benefits.The main problem that may become a concern is the availability of US dollar to finance the foreign component of the cost. The government has already expressed its optimism to be able to face this problem by using the forex reserve, which is currently in robust shape. However, this robustness may not sustain given the volatility of the global economy as well as our   export and import scenario. However, continued growth of remittances in the recent years is a plus point for the country.Yet, to minimise the risk of any probable foreign currency crisis and reduce pressure on the balance of payment, it will be prudent to extend the construction period of the bridge to five years, which will keep the yearly need of US dollar at a level of about $330 million. It is not easy for a developing and growing economy, which constantly operates under a stringent resource frontier, to invest in a huge infrastructure project like that of the Padma bridge. But the above numbers suggest that constructing the bridge in five years with domestic financing is very much doable contradicting the apprehension expressed by many. The End