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Bangladesh National Information Window was launched last June to make various services of the government easily accessible to the people with the help of digital technology. It is actually a web portal made up of 25,000 websites. This review is about how the portal of Drishtinandan contains the necessary information of the people, how much it is user-friendly, how rich the information is.
The world's largest digital web portal has been launched in Bangladesh as part of the government's efforts to bring government services to the doorsteps of the people. Its name is Bangladesh National Information Window (www.bangladesh.gov.bd). Inaugurating the portal on June 23, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, IT adviser to the Prime Minister, said, "We have verified that there are no 25,000 government websites in one place in any other country in the world." There is only one in Bangladesh now. 'More than 50,000 government officials have been trained to enter information into the information window. The Access to Information (A2I) program was responsible for planning and implementing it. It is worth mentioning that the website www.bangladesh.gov.bd was already there. However, its scope was less then. It was further said in the inauguration ceremony that this information window is seen by 1.5 million people every day. On the night of 23 July, the ranking and popularity verification website Alexa (www.alexa.com) showed the position of the national information window at number 242 among the websites visited from Bangladesh. And 62,835 in the world.
The government wants the citizens of the country to use the national information window as a 'one stop service' to get information on agriculture, education, health, law, tourism, etc. It is said that notifications of educational institutions, gazettes, e-services, government forms, citizen charters, lists of officials of various government institutions, more than seven lakh e-directories, lists of freedom fighters, government development activities, names, addresses, phone numbers of people's representatives, etc. Information can be found at Batayan. 4,550 at Union level, 14,460 at Upazila level, 4032 at District level, 455 at Divisional level, 64 at District Council level, 48 at Upazila Parishad level, 55 at Ministry-Division level, 345 at Department level and 414 at City Corporation and Municipality level. Information window has been created. There is even an English version of it to introduce Bangladesh to the world, which is commendable. However, there are discrepancies between the Bengali and English versions in providing information. For example, the front page of the Bengali version reads: ‘About 25,000 web portals (information windows) have been constructed for all government departments including unions, upazilas, districts, divisions, departments and ministries under the national window. With the launch of the portal in all departments, it will be easier for the people to get information and services. 'On the other hand, the English version says that more than 25,000 portals have been created which are in trial (beta version). Thus, information and statistics of Bengali and English versions can be seen all over the window.
Although there is a lot in the national information window, it is not user-friendly. In other words, there are many problems in using it. Finding any information here is like finding a needle in a haystack. Doubts may also arise as to whether the information you find can be relied upon. Because, there is a lot of misinformation and data. Once a user sees an incorrect information, it naturally raises questions about other information. And when you look at the page of misinformation, you will understand how serious the situation is.
On the first page there are 71 ministries and departments. But there are 70 inside. If you go inside by pressing 345 departments and other buttons, you can find 353 of them, of which there is double information commission. Finding your choice from a huge list is difficult and laborious as the names of the ministries, departments or directorates are not arranged in alphabetical order. Again, writing on the first page of the search is not what you need to find. Separately, Kalapara, Patuakhali, Kuakata, etc. were searched and nothing was found. A search of Cox's Bazar showed a 'list of hospitals' at the beginning. And after clicking on it, a list of hospitals of different departments and districts of the country has been found. If you go to your district or upazila with this window, you will not be able to return to the window from there. But this opportunity could be easily kept.
The point is that the portal, which could be important and unique for civic service, has been created with a lot of carelessness and negligence. Not only sound education but his alertness and dedication too are most required.
I chose Kalapara upazila of Patuakhali district to understand the inconsistency of the information. When I went there, my eyes were wide open. There are inconsistencies in the names of the chairmen of the Union Parishads (UPs), the names and the number of villages. However, I was stunned to visit the website of the Union Information and Service Center. I saw that the income of Ishibpur Union of Rajoir, which is at the top of the list of top 20 service providers in June 2014, is 10 crore 46 thousand 85 rupees a month. Which is impossible in a word! The lowest earner is Harta Union of Wazirpur. Their income is 1,19,736 rupees. The one-day list shows that Noakhali Union of Noakhali Sadar earned Tk 33,630. And number 3 is 'admin'. His income is 12,060 rupees. Then understand what is the status of data entry in the whole website!
Our hope is that with the combined efforts of all, one day the national information window will turn into a web portal of excellence, not of numbers but of pride.