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To The Editor
Pruning or preening the jungle of city roads?
Sir. The recent drive of DCC to remove unauthorised structures from roadside DCC-Iand is a praiseworthy effort. Especially when city roads are having horrendous traffic jam. At last, the City Mayor has kindly tried to come out of his Chimera image. We support him wholeheartedly. We also wish him grand success. But. his success and failure would depend on the motive behind it. We remember, in martial law (from Gen. Ayub onwards), they irrespectively removed the unauthorised/ superfluous structures from thoroughfares. They used to make sure Municipality (now City Corporation) to perform their "supposed to do duty". So. then the city looked orderly, also spick and span. No hassle, no two-way thinking who would do whose job and when. The deployed aid-to-civil administration force only oversaw whether city being maintained the way Cantonment Board looked after a cantt. In those days, we had regular road sweeping and garbage clearing, bleaching powdering, spraying, scrubbing and washing all over the city at the same time and from the same resources (money/manpower) of Municipality. Military only ensured the right use and timely use of those resources.
Thus, for vacating foot-fiath/unauthorised occupants makeshift office, bastl. makeshift stalls, shop extensions as display, movable display boards, construction items, vehicle and Ure workshops, welding and brazing yards, furniture displays, truck stands, vehicle parking etc), DCC has to take in hand all simultaneously. so that, none can point out, why others have been spared. Once a police commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan City, did that in the said way. There he is still remembered as a maverick figure.
Can a garden be weeded out just by removing few shrubs and sparing the proliferating thousands? In no time, others will turn into jungle with more vigour. Alexander the great and Robert Bruce followed nature, before they became successful. I hope the Mayor would also take lesson from Mother Nature. Recently. while coming to my workplace. I noticed a newly-placed sign board in front ots bastl grown tn a pooh area of Dhaka (Road. 17. Blk-C. Plots between Banani Sub Post Office and UAE Moi tree Complex, and in front of other posh houses of Banani Model Town. DCC). "Bangladesh Basthuhara Samlty-Bhola Bastl Unit, Ward
Number-19" is written on this board.
A R Choudhury Uttara Dhaka.
Tobacco and sports
Sir, Smoking is a major cause of death and hence tobacco manufacturers are all merchants of death! Why then. I ask. are these merchants of death allowed to carry on their morbid trade so blatantly? Why are they allowed to sponsor sports events? When tobacco companies are permitted to blazon their logos at momentous sports events like the World Cup Cricket. It gives the erroneous message that smoking and fitness mix!
Through your esteemed daily I fervently condemn the sponsorship of sports events by the tobacco manufacturers. It is my sincere belief that every conscious citizen of the world would Join forces with me and voice his/her protest against this unethical practice.
Mushfiqur Rahman (By e-mail)
North South University. Dhaka.
Foot-bridge needed
Sir. Divided into fourteen sectors. Uttara Model Town is fast becoming a vital part of the capital. Adjoining sector No. 7 of the model town, Azampur bus stop is an important Junction serving thousands of people round the clock, and thus has turned into a real busy point.
In the near past, several tragic road mishaps occurred at Azampur involving pedestrians, including school children. But unfortunately, despite re-Kted request by the inhabi-
ts of Uttara Model Town no steps have yet been taken to construct any foot-bridge at Azampur crossing.
Thus it is an earnest request to the authorities concerned to set up a foot-bridge at Azampur to facilitate the pedestrians and help reduce chances of mishaps and traffic congestion to a large extent.
Aziz Amirul
Uttara Model Town
Dhaka-1230.
Will the Civil
Aviation Authority respond?
Sir, Recently 1 went to Zia International Airport on a weekend. My family was with me. We parked our car in front of the "Waterfront" restaurant, where many cars were parked, and went in to spend some time over there.
When we returned to the car
we found that somebody had tied an iron-cage like thing to one of the wheels of the car! I looked around to see if anybody was there. No police or others in uniform was in sight. Then a teen-age boy came along and pointed to a lungi-clad boy — about 13 years of age — with keys in his hand. He did not wish to come forward so I called him to ask who had done it. His reply was that he acted upon the command of his "boss". He pointed to a tin plaque nailed to a tree with the words "No Park ing" written on it. Who has issued that order was not mentioned at all. It was not a No Parking Traffic sign put up by the police. I told him to call his "boss" so that I could "release" my car. To this he replied that his boss wouldn't come so I had to go and see his "boss" instead. I was naturally annoyed but since my family was with me I did not wish to prolong this fiasco any further. I decided to go and find out who his 'boss’ was.
1 was amused to find that his boss was a 30-35-year-old man in charge of collecting money for the parking lot just In front of the domestic terminal. He politely explained that I must pay Tk. 50 as fine for parking my car over there. Naturally he would not give any money receipt for that nor would he manifest under which authority he is entitled to collect fine from the citizens.
Well, had it been 10 years earlier with my emotions in full flow. I would have broken his nose right there! But as it is expected of a "decent" 40-year-old "gentleman” in this country. I struck a deal with him instead and settled for Tk. 20 which he politely accepted and Immediately ordered his "pichchi" to "release" my car.
It was evident that the lessee of that parking place is collecting money by means of "mas-tani". You call it extortionists’ blackmail.
Now may I ask the Civil Aviation Authority if they are aware of this fact. If so, then what action do they intend to take against those Involved In this kind of extortions? To the best of my knowledge none other than the judiciary or the bona fide person of law enforcing agencies can impose a fine on anybody in this country. Even that can be challenged in the court of law. So it is a clear violation of civil rights of a commoner. And Civil Aviation Authority is responsible for it by tacitly allowing it to happen right under its nose.
I hope the authorities concerned will look into thia matter.
A A Karim (By e-mail) Dhaka