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Biography

A SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF RTN ENGR. MD. KARIMUL HAQUE TALUKDAR

Birth and Family: I was born in a remote village (named ‘Balihara’ - 60 km northwest of Dinajpur town) in my “nana’s” house on 21 December 1941. My father was a farmer and my mother was a house keeper. We are four brothers and four sisters.

Education: I got my primary education in a local Free Primary School and secondary education in three local High Schools (Haripur, Bhomradaha and Pirganj). I passed the Matriculation Examination in 1957 from Pirganj High School. I passed the I. Sc. Examination from the Surendra Nath College, Dinajpur in 1960. I was dreaming to be an engineer. l was lucky to be one of the successful students who were finally selected for B. Sc. Engineering course into the then Ahsanullah Engineering College, Dhaka (the only Engineering College in East Pakistan). I expressed my deep gratitude to Almighty Allah. I came out of the East Pakistan University of Engineering and Technology (college upgraded to university in 1962) as a professional civil engineer in 1964. While I was in service with East Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (EPWAPDA) I was sent to the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok for doing Master of Engineering in Water Resources Engineering and I obtained the Degree of Master of Engineering in 1971.

Service: After graduation I joined the then EPWAPDA in February 1965. In 1972 EPWAPDA was split into boards – Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). I worked in EPWAPDA/BWDB in various capacities mostly in the design and planning departments in Dhaka. For a short period I worked as a field engineer in Bogra. I also worked as a field engineer for 2 years in Iraq to implement an irrigation and land reclamation project. I left BWDB in early 1984 and joined the Asian Development Bank’s Resident Mission in Dhaka. During my service in ADB, I had the opportunity to work with high government and various agencies’ top officials. It was a remarkable experience in working with ADB. I retired from ADB in December 2001. From February 2004 to December 2015, I worked as a consultant for preparing new and evaluation of completed ADB-financed projects.

Family Life: I got married in June 1969 with a wonderful lady – Begum Nurjahan. She got her Bachelor (Hon) and Master Degree in Political Science from the University of Dhaka in 1968. Later she got the B.Ed. Degree also. She was in the teaching profession. We have one son (a medical graduate from Dhaka Medical College) and one daughter (an engineer from BUET). After pursuing higher studies in the USA they are engaged in good jobs and decided to live there permanently. Both of them got married and we have four grandchildren, two from each one. My spouse had started her eternal journey on 03 June 2023. Let her soul remain in peace. She supported me blindfold not only in running our personal world but also in running my Rotary activities.

Rotary Journey: My classmate, Rtn Brig Gen Masud Ali Khan (Ret’d) invited me to Rotary after my retirement from the Asian Development Bank while he was the President (2001-02). I was formally inducted to the Rotary World in August 2002 by another classmate, Rtn K. M. Zainul Abedin, the then Governor of RI District 3280 at the Installation Ceremony of Rtn Nasser Shahrear Zahedee (2002-03). I served my Club in the capacity of Sergeant-at-Arms (2003-04), Centennial Secretary (2004-05), President (2012-13) and a Board Member for a number of times.  As President of my club I received a number of District Awards for various achievements. I was lucky I could attend the Rotary Centennial Convention in Chicago in June 2005 as an official delegate of the Club. I served the District 3281 as Assistant Governor (2015-16), District Grants Subcommittee Chair (DGSC) in 2015-16 and Deputy Governor (2016-17). I implemented or provided active assistance in implementing a number of projects of the Club. I tried my utmost and was successful to attain the status of 100% PHF-member club. I tried to attend most of the District functions. While I was the President of the Club in 2012-13, Rtn SAM Showket Hossain, one of the members of our Club, was elected as the Governor for the District 3281 for 2015-16.