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To the Editor...
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CHT students' woes
A discriminatory step of the Health Department has left us, the people of the CHT, speechless and this raises doubts about the conscience and rationality of the high-ups involved in decision making of the Health Department.
According to the new rule issued on 10 November 2005 by the Health Department, the local students of the CHT (Bandarban, Khagrachhari and Rangamati) are required to have their citizenship certificates issued by the CHT Affairs Ministry to get admitted to the country's government medical colleges. But earlier, this work of issuing citizenship certificates used to be done by the three hill districts' deputy commissioners (DC) or the three circle chiefs. This was a difficult job to get done for the students and their poor guardians from almost inaccessible frontier
areas of the CHT. Now, surely, this new resolution will make their lives even more difficult.
Before enacting the new rule, the Health Department did not even feel it necessary to consult with the respective deputy commissioners and the circle chiefs, let alone the common people of the CHT. Bhomang Circle Chief King Aung Sue Prue Chowdhury expressed his deep dissatisfaction at this move to your Bandarban correspondent (The Daily Star, 26 November, 2005), being informed by neither the Health Department nor the govt.
It should be noted that a student of plain land does not need to go to any ministry to collect citizenship certificate; then why should this discriminatory statute be introduced in the CHT? Will the Health Department make it clear?
I hope the Health Department will reconsider its decision and will take
the initiative to increase the number of seats reserved in govt. medical colleges for the ethnic minority students from the CHT.
Pablu Choudhury
West Shewrapara, Mirpur, Dhaka
Hartal losing appeal
We find valuable opinions on political strike or hartal in the newspapers. Actually, it is the only weapon of the opposition parties to face the ruling party. The general people have tested the performances of all the parties. They can arrange meetings with huge gathering but that is not a true reflection of public response. It is clear that their only motive is to grab power. The general people assess the ruling party's performance rather critically.
But, for the sake of democracy in the country we need political parties. Some people have to run
the government. We need some pressure from opposition as well. It will help to minimise corruption and unbridled freedom of the government. So, we have to accept all these things and we have to wait until our democracy becomes mature.
In fact the nature of hartal is relax or “dhile-dhala” now. During hartal, people can move from one place to another, they can attend their duties as well. They are not scared as before. Because rickshaws are allowed on the main roads during hartal. This is an opportunity for the rickshawpullers. They can earn more on these days. But students, businessmen, other poor people and highway transportation are badly affected on hartal days.
However, the change in nature of hartal is a clear indication that it is gradually losing its appeal to the
general people and it will be no longer effective in the coming days. Zahir U. Hyder
On e-mail
On hartal
I am a regular reader of DS. I am based at Mumbai, but my family comes from Gopalganj.
—This is with reference to the letter "Who gains from hartals". I completely support the views. In any democratic set-up, hartal is an effective tool to register protest. This is to be used but the question is up to what extent.
The political leaders should understand that by bringing the country to a halt not only the livelihoods of the ordinary people are at risk but it hampers the economy also. This loss can be in millions of dollars. In India there is a Supreme Court ruling that if any political party calls a hartal, the
party has to pay a minimum fine for bringing the whole city to a halt.
A local party had to pay a fine to the government for its movement as there was damage to public property.
Similarly, a national party also had to pay fine for damage to public property. This acts as a deterrent to calling hartal rather frequently. Bandhs can turn
violent at times, so heavy fines are a means to control them. Also the parties should be charged heavily for the damage to public property as compensation.
I think the highest court of Bangladesh and the lawmakers should think about it.
Mridul Ghosh
On e-mail
Rickshaws and traffic jam
Rickshaw was made off-limits from Science Laboratory up to the Secretariat, (formerly Eden Building) during the Saarc Summit; and the security net has not yet been fully lifted. The decision to ban non-motorised vehicles on this important route was a long due plan of the government to ease traffic congestion by restricting slow moving vehicles. It cannot be denied that the steps helped to reduce traffic congestion. I reached Motijheel from Zigatola by a city bus in fifteen minutes only. Most importantly, on my way I didn't see any quarrel or any foul-talk between the conductor and the rickshawpullers which used to be a common phenomenon while rickshaws used to ply this road. What we, the commuters, actually want is a safe, improved and time saving transportation to reach our destinations. Moreover, it is
inhuman to see a person pulling a rickshaw for such a long distance. Furthermore, due to lack of basic traffic knowledge an unhealthy competition used to surface between the rickshaw pullers and the bus drivers. And the situation would often go beyond control. To minimise the sufferings of the rickshaw-pullers, the government should come out with plans with the help of the donor agencies and rehabilitate them properly.
Humayun Hyder
Zigatola, Dhaka