Smoking

Sir, It is often published that smoking Is a great health hazard and NO SMOKING sign is exhibited at many Important public places. But. to my utter surprise. It was a different story altogether when I watched the recent 10th Asian Club Football Tournament held at Dhaka Stadium. There was smoking all around and the attractive pictures of cigarettes of various brands were magnificently displayed around the gallery of the stadium. It looked to me as though we are publicising against NO SMOKING' whereas It should really be the other way round.

I wonder how the health conscious people of the country will react to this contradictory situation.

K. K. Das '

B. K. Das Road. Dhaka 1100

Govt housing project

Sir. As per an advertisement in the dally newspapers on 4/6/87 of the Griho

Sangsthan Adhidaptcr' (Housing Directorate) one of my colleagues along with many others submitted an application in prescribed form which cost an amount of Tk 350/-(non-refundable) for a flat (apartment) said to be constructed by the Directorate. An amount of Tk 30.000/- was charged as security money from each applicant.

Now after five years, my colleague, when contacted the Chief Engineer of the Housing Directorate, came to know that the plan of constructing those flats has been abandoned due to the non-availability of the required fund of Tk 100 crore. It Is understood that the Planning Commission didn't approve the project. My colleague has been advised by the Directorate to get his security money refunded.

But some questions are being raised by those who applied for the flats: (1) Why the Housing Directorate floated the ad without having prior

approval of their project by the government? (11) Who would compensate the financial loss caused to the applicant by withholding their security money for such a long time? Had they kept this money in a bank, they would have received Interests, (iii) What about the non-refundable Tk 350/-which they paid for no reason since the authorities have abandoned the projects?

Ish'l there any means to execute the project? According to the latest reports, a lot of government money have been either misused in unproductive sectors or borrowed by banks and ingenuine borrowers.

Can t we afford only one hundred crore taka for erecting small apartments for poor government employees?

M. Zahldul Haque Assistant Professor. Bangladesh Agricultural Instit ute, Dhaka-1207.