Price hike

We all observed that prices of essential commodities had kept on rising under the last government. Prices rose further in the recent past as well. Almost every day newspapers and TV channels report that the essential commodities like rice, course flour, onion, lentil, red chili, milk powder, beef, potato and chicken are all selling at exorbitant prices in the cities and rural areas. In Bangladesh most of the people have limited and fixed income. They usually cannot purchase the desired goods and services owing to their low income. When inflation increases the price level, they become helpless. Their purchasing ability reduces further and life becomes difficult.

Common people expect that the government will take effective measures to halt inflation and arrange adequate supply. Keeping prices within the purchasing capacity of common people should be the top priority of the government.

Md. Ashraf Hossain

Central Bashabo, Dhaka

DRockStars

The popular TV show DRockStars is gradually gaining more popularity among people, as it steps into its second season. This is a positive sign for Bangla music as people are now also listening to the metal or hard rock genre of music which was unimaginable before the emergence of underground bands who came onto the music scene in the early 2000s. Finally, people are now listening to these categories of music because majority of them listen to folk rock or soft rock pattern of music played by veteran bands. But this show is certainly doing a great job by picking up talented musicians from Khulna, Rajshahi, Chittagong, Sylhet and so these bands are getting a platform to give exposure to their talents. I was surprised to see bands from outside Dhaka performing so well and was particularly amazed by the fact that they also listen to these genres of music. Lastly, I would like to thank channel-i and djuice for arranging such a show which will help give Bangla music a new shape and direction.

Wasif Wahed

Old DOHS

Women on the move

Once upon a time women thought that they were only born to be a good housewife. But now a revolutionary change has taken place in their attitude. Housewives are working outside their homes like men. They are not lagging far behind in different fields.

However, women in our society are still not in a position to take important decisions regarding their lives.

The situation will hopefully change in the future.

Nusrat Sultana Sonia Department of English IIU, Chittagong

BCB & our expectations

Bangladesh Cricket Board(BCB)--the most affluent and prestigious sports body of our country, has been reformed and a new ad-hoc committee has been appointed. It's welcome news indeed. Although the members of the past committee did a decent if not excellent job during their tenure, yet most of them were appointed on political consideration. The way they ran the premier sports body of our country came under question several times due to corruption and nepotism. But the people who ran the show were able to escape the wrath of the media and the people due to some extraordinary performances by our cricketers.

But now is the time for this new committee to forget the past and move forward. They should make the BCB a transparent organisation. They should never forget that the BCB is there for taking our cricket forward and not for fulfilling individual goals. Right now, they need to appoint a new coach, physio, management members for our national team, and merit should be the sole criterion for these important jobs--where our national interest comes first.

Even though our immediate past coach Dave Whatmore achieved successes on paper, but now is the time we need to ask ourselves whether this man was really able to instill the right temperament in our batsmen, especially in Test cricket. Whatmore should be held responsible for the repeated failures of our batsmen in the longer version of the game. We see our batsmen struggling to cross even 200 runs. They still don't know how to occupy the crease and play session by session.

So I think our new committee should look into these aspects and should not commit the same mistake this time by appointing a high profile coach. There is no doubt that our cricketers are naturally talented and in my view, instead of appointing a foreigner, a local coach should be able to help them a lot. A local coach can easily sort out our players' problems and can communicate more easily with them. I think our former captain Aminul Islam Bulbul was neglected in the past and now BCB should give him a suitable position to aide our struggling batsmen.

Cricket is the only sport where we have achieved tremendous success and our people are just crazy about the team.

So, I do hope our newly formed BCB will be able to run the show more efficiently.

Nazmus Saquib, Bashabo, Dhaka

Cost and management accounting

In Bangladesh, like many other countries, business enterprises are growing in size and complexity. Management today requires relevant facts to reduce the risk of making faulty decisions. Management needs cost and management accountants (CMAs) not only to fulfill the traditional role of recording, classifying and analysing business transactions vis-a-vis application of IT in business but also for managerial control. The CMAs are skilled in obtaining, evaluating, reporting and managing all the information which organisations need to control their operation effectively. A cost and management accountant is a specialised professional to work as financial consultant, cost consultant, cost auditor, tax consultant and adviser, appraiser, management consultant. Render professional services in designing and installing system of cost and management accounting. Design and implement information system for business decision. Guide management in cost effective execution of business operation.

Bangladesh is a country of immense possibility. Because of it's geopolitical positioning, Bangladesh has earned an excellent reputation in international trade, manufacturing and overall favourable investment environment among the investors.

Shakil Ahmed, On e-mail

Why this luxury?

Our ex-PM Sheikh Hasina has two very expensive Mercedes SUVs.

As the leader of the opposition, she deserved this small perk!

And, if I am not wrong, the idea behind this unprecedented “perk” for the members of parliament was to give them a means of transportation to meet their own constituents. It was not meant to provide a taxevading scheme for their rich and powerful masters.

Mohammad Zaman

North Carolina, USA Professor Abdul Karim

Professor Abdul Karim, the senior most historian of Bangladesh and former vice-chancellor of Chittagong University, breathed his last on 24 July. Like his large number of students, friends, acquaintances and relatives I was deeply saddened by his expiry.

I had the privilege of learning at his feet in Dhaka and working as his colleague in Chittagong University for a short spell, respectively, in the late 1950s and early 1970s. However, the contact continued later as I met him from time to time in Chittagong and Dhaka. I developed a great liking and respect for him as an outstanding teacher, a caring colleague, and a great human being, easily accessible, amiable and with a simple life style. I presented him a neck tie in 1973, but he kept wearing it throughout his life (maybe this was the only neck tie he had). That he was a brilliant teacher will be, I am sure, the unanimous view of all his students in Dhaka and Chittagong University.

Professor Karim had a checkered career. Born in 1928 in Chittagong, he did his Masters in History from Dhaka University in 1950 and the next year he joined the same university as a lecturer. He continued teaching in Dhaka till 1966 when he joined the newly established University of Chittagong as the first Head of the Department of History. Meanwhile he obtained two Ph.D. degrees, one from the University of Dhaka and the other from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. Though basically a research scholar and a teacher, he held many administrative posts. As a researcher Professor Karim specialised in the medieval history of Bengal - its political, social, religious and economic life, its inscriptions, coins and literature. He was eminently qualified for this job as he knew both Persian and Arabic very well. He had to his credit a large number of publications: 36 books and about 200 articles in English and Bangla. The articles were published in standard research journals at home and abroad. In recognition of his outstanding scholarship, he was awarded Akbar Gold Medal by the Indian Numismatic Society, Peace Award by the International Association for Religious Freedom, Ekushey Padak by the government of Bangladesh and Gold Medals by the Bangladesh History Association and the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.

In Professor Karim's death the nation has lost a brilliant teacher, a dedicated historian and an able administrator. Unfortunately his death will also mean the virtual end of our long and rich tradition of research in medieval history. It would also mean a huge loss personally for me, because he was a sincere well-wisher.

We pray for the salvation of his departed soul.

Professor M. Mufakhrul Islam Department of History

University of Dhaka

Your editorial In a DS write-up, a question was raised as to what happens after minus two, your commentator had no answer, but I have the answer as regards the Awami League. Notwithstanding what Razzak, Tofael, Bose, Suranjit had to say, the fact is that the rank and files of the Awami League at home and abroad are united behind Hasina; at the grassroots level not a single of those "reformists" will ever be able to go to sell their "reform" theory, absolutely NO. If you have any doubt you may investigate the matter. The situation is quite different from what it is in the BNP. You have equated the AL with the BNP in terms of everything, but you will be absolutely wrong if you do that on this count.

In the event of Hasina's conviction, the Awami League will still remain rock solid united, and Mr. Zillur Rahman, a Hasina loyalist, will remain the symbolic chief of the party and other Hasina loyalists like Motia Chowdhury, Maj. Gen Subed Ali, Advocate Sahara Khatun, Abdul Matin Khosru, Advocate Abdul Hamid, Saber Hussain Chowdhury will jointly lead the party to elections, I repeat there SHALL be no SPLIT in the Awami League.

That's the answer to the question raised in the DS write-up. If you have any doubt, you can conduct a survey to determine if I am speaking the truth.

Dr. M Hussain

On e-mail

Grameenphone

I thank Grameenphone for establishing cyber cafe like centres all over Bangladesh. This will give an opportunity to our population outside urban areas to be connected with the global ICT system. I know even many of our district headquarters were not having such facilities in the past. As a result, people in the rural areas, particularly the younger generation, are falling behind in the competitive society for their low level of information and communication abilities. I am sure GP has also made the necessary arrangements in each centre, so that people can make the best use of the facilities provided by them.

I congratulate GP for fulfilling their corporate social responsibilities in our country.

KMZA

Dhanmondi, Dhaka

Arsenic mitigation filter

You are aware that Dr. Abul Hussam, who invented the low cost arsenic mitigation filter capable of decontaminating drinking water, was awarded Grainger Challenge Prize for sustainability by the National Academy of Engineering, USA. This prize is known as the Nobel in Technology. Dr. Hussam's younger brothers Dr. Abul Munir is the co-inventor and Dr. Abul Barakat (Professor of Economics, Dhaka University) is the co-worker in the whole process of invention in the last ten years.

Unfortunately, this great invention did not receive wide coverage in our media.

Taher Uddin

Consultant, Human Development Research Centre

Dr. Saiful Hoque Director

International Programme Development

Human Development Research Centre

Shahnoor Wahid's column

Read your Tuesday post headlined “Should we not stand beside the marooned people?”. You have tried intermingling natural disaster with political debate. No doubt, a well planned strategy is mandatory in all spheres.

In a sense, flooding, river erosion, loss of public property etc are almost natural in most of the river-dense countries, even in the United States. I agree with your humanitarian view in the column. Not in the purely scientific sense, rather we as laypersons can observe some causes and effects of flood and erosion.

The problem here is that the politicians are not experts in technical matters.

Rumel Humayun

Dhaka

Success at IMO

Three Bangladeshis secured honourable mentions in the International Math Olympiad (IMO) at Hanoi, Vietnam. Their total points at the end of the competition were 31. Russia topped the list with 181 points. While they were still midgets compared to the powerhouses like China and Russia, their achievement is belittled in no way. At such an extremely competitive level, their performance exceeded the expectations since it was only our third attempt at IMO. The contestants and the mentors like Dr. Kaykobad and Jafar Iqbal, the pioneers of the Math Olympiad movement in Bangladesh, deserve congratulations.

However, at the primary and secondary levels the science education system is still prehistoric. Creative thinking is discouraged while memorising and regurgitation are promoted. The lesson from this IMO is that reforms are necessary in the education sector.

Ananya Das

A Level student

Cephalon International East Basaboo, Dhaka

Non-government sector

Emdadul Haque's observations on the subject (Aug.2) are not fully realistic. This is particularly true about the statement: "The nongovt. sector is free from nepotism, bribery and mismanagement".

This is not wholly correct. Having worked for over 30 years in the private sector, balance in public sector; my service life experiences are somewhat different.

The multinational private sector to a great extent did not have bribery and mismanagement (sometimes). However nepotism in the form of influencing bosses, what was called the "non-Einsteinian theory of relativity (Relative's influence, particularly from high govt. officials) was not unknown. Often jobs were given on this basis" Also prevalent was "buttering up bosses"; what we used to call "oiling and greasing" was present. However, bribery was non-existent. The same applied to the public sector, but here bribery was often practised. To give the devil its due, I found this very much absent from 1971 through 1976.

Frankly, our Bangladeshi private sector does not actually operate as a professional management entity. Their practices are based only upon expediency and profit making, principles are non-existent.

This is the sum of my around 50 years' experience in the public and private sector (international and national), with around 20 years as head of public sector enterprises.

S.A. Mansoor

Retired Engineer On e-mail