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TO THE EDITOR
Rice farming with Myanmar
The report on the subject published in your 21st.April issue is an extremely pertinent and important matter. However as usual there is the predictable bureaucratic twist in it! Why and what have officials to go and see about contract fanning there? What are our embassy officials doing there? Sucking their thumbs? It is a topmost priority for Bangladesh! Officials should not meddle in matters that need a private sector approach; if officials have any wisdom!
Best would be to support a private joint venture with Myanmar for cultivation, para-boiling and export of rice to Bangladesh from Myanmar. There is very good prospect for setting up such a venture. Rice in Myanmar is usually of "Atap" variety, while major market in Bangladesh is for ’boiled' rice, A joint venture for growing, para-boiling and rice milling can be set up in Myanmar; and the product exported to Bangladesh!
This should be our official approach. Instead we plan to waste time and foreign exchange, to send officials to go and "see"; then come back and start the "paper chase" with an initial essay on contract farming, with notes and comments, as the fattening file moves from table to table, agency to agency, maybe ultimately getting misplaced or lost in inter-ministerial transit! Instead, encourage our private sector on this vital trade through joint venture, then may be, it will see the light of the day by early next year. That should be our logical approach. But possibly the priority of our officials, with no background in industry and business, is an all expense paid trip to Myanmar! Who are we to question why!
SA. Mansoor
Dhaka
Earthquake
At the time of earthquake a huge amount of energy is released through shaking of the ground and things over it. We Bangladeshis are familiar with it, but we don't see the dangers associated withit.
We should prepare for such disasters through adopting the necessary measures.
Mont’s Mamun
Department of Civil Engineering BUET
Supermarkets
According to the business scholars, supermarkets and department stores are like a little oasis to the urban people because they provide the city dwellers a standard, noise free, hassle free shopping, but in Bangladesh, supermarkets and department stores not only fail to provide the standard shopping environment, but also cheat the customers.
We do go to department stores and supermarkets because their aim is to provide a complete range of high quality goods under one roof. The aim is to encourage one-stop shopping. We go there because we expect them to sell to customers various commodities at very competitive prices, the goods are displayed with clear price-tags to help the customers to choose and buy. The goods are expected to be sold at fixed prices.
The supermarkets and department stores are over pricing some particular goods like clothes, jewelleries, shoes/sandals. They buy these goods at a cheap rate and ask for exorbitant prices from the customers.
The supermarkets and department stores should try to reach the people in general.
MD.Zoheb
Rosedale International English School Zakaria Manson, Ferighat Jamatkhana, Khulna
Contract farming with Myanmar
I read with deep interest in DS today (20th April) about leasing at least 50,000 acres of land from Myanmar in its Rakhine state for cultivation on contract. This is an excellent idea and the Bangladesh government should do its utmost to materialise the plan. Both Bangladesh and Myanmar would be highly benefited economically by such activities.
Trade brings prosperity and border trade between Bangladesh and Myanmar needs to be improved substantially. It is surprising that current border trade between these two neighbours is US$10,000/- only. Is it any trade or a little smuggling activity? Border trade should be encouraged by both the governments. The government decision to increase border trade from current US$10,000 to $20,000 is ridiculous. Is US$20,000/- a trade amount between two countries? The decision, it is reported, was taken at a meeting of the inter-ministerial sub-committee on Bangladesh-Myanmar trade where the Commerce Secretary presided.
We should learn to think and act big.
Tayeb Husain Lund. Sweden
Bangladeshi politicians and healthcare I feel politicians of Bangladesh should not go abroad for treatment, since as public figures they are supposed to get service of the public health system. If this happens the health system may improve. They should remember how the people are suffering and how they are getting the treatment. In 2004, my brother was admitted in NICVD hospital, in one night I saw nearly 5 people dying, my brother survived the first night but passed away next day morning. He was a great freedom fighter and he never wanted any advantage from the government for being a freedom fighter. I felt sorry for myself and for my brother's family that includes three small children along with all the Bangladeshis, the victims of the bankrupt health system of Bangladesh. I cursed the politicians who are responsible for such condition of our healthcare system. Do we need these politicians who are not useful, who are nothing but looters?
Should they be allowed anything more than healthcare facilities available in the country?
Md. Haider
Michigan, USA
Jamaat politics
There is a group that is called Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh Supporters Forum. The administrator of the group claims that "Jamaat is doing the most difficult and most appropriate task of building a prosperous Bangladesh." This group also welcomes individuals to join the group in support of this political party. The Jamaat is a fundamentalist group which participated in war crimes against Bangladeshis in 1971. These individuals and parties have never acknowledged the atrocities and systematic murder they helped orchestrate.
In fact, they blatantly deny their involvement and attempt to rewrite our history. These killers now want to rule our motherland. Don't they feel ashamed of living in this country, the country they never wanted? The Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh does not belong to the political arena of this country. If they really need to do politics then they should got back to their 'fatherland' Pakistan and start doing politics there.
They never wanted independence of Bangladesh and we also do not want them to live here.
Minhaj Ahmed
Uttara, Dhaka
A dangerous livelihood
It was very disheartening to read about the plight of the workers of the re-rolling mills on your first page news " A Dangerous Livelihood.” (DSApril21).Theones to be blamed are certainly the factory owners and successive governments. The factory owners, in not providing adequate safety measures, are violating the basic human rights of the workers. This unethical and immoral attitude on the part of the factory owners is reprehensible. Punitive measures must be taken against these ruthless owners immediately. And successive governments also share the blame. There are only 4 inspectors for 6,000 registered boilers! In addition, there are just 13 inspectors for more than 14,000 factories countrywide! The government immediately needs to expand the manpower of the department concerned. The government must also think about making it mandatory for the factories to have a standby doctor. And each factory must have adequate safety clothes and tools. Appropriate rules should be there to punish those owners who are violating the rules.
Workers are human beings and deserve proper respect and care. It is due to their hard work and due to them putting their lives under extreme hazards that these rerolling mill owners manage to earn profits. And when they die, it is treated as a mere statistic!!
I thank your paper for covering the issue.
Wasif Wahed
Old DOHS, Dhaka
Pahela Baishakh and Hindi songs
This is in response to the letter of Ahmed Ferdous Bin Alam published in The Daily Star on 21 April. The writer got hugely disappointed with the Hindi song performance of the popular singer of our country James on Pahela Baishakh. He even went as far as saying that a singer like James should not have rendered a Hindi song on Pahela Baishakh in order to show his true patriotism!
I think what James did was not at all something for which we should blame him. Rather, we as Bengalees are proud about the fact that our very own singer James has brought international name and fame not only for himself, but also? for the whole country and its people in the field of music. Moreover, Mr. Alam should understand that to refrain from singing in Hindi for just one particular day would not prove our true love for our mother tongue. If we blame the fm radio stations for broadcasting Hindi songs, it will not help us in any way to establish our true love for our language. Rather, we all should respect our language from our hearts. The love for our country is not something which we should demonstrate. The love for our country and language should come from within ourselves.
If we really love this country, then we should try to protect its true identity, culture and tradition. These days some so called modern music composers are composing Bangla songs using vulgar words, and thus trying to destroy our language. So, instead of shouting at Hindi songs, we should condemn those singers and composers who in the name of experimenting with Bangla songs are actually doing great harm to our language.
NazmusSaquib Dept, of English Stamford University Dhanmondi
Still privileged!
Even though the ex- prime ministers of Bangladesh are still behind bars, they should take some solace that they still receive exclusive facilities. A few are listed below;
1. A full armoured escort follows them when they leave their new homes to visit the court or hospital. The roads are also blocked for their easy and speedy access creating headaches for commuters.
2. They receive the best medical treatment available in the country, with the leading doctors and special rooms booked for their disposal. Whereas majority patients have to wait for days sometimes just to get an appointment.
3. They are guarded round the clock by security personnel, so that no terrorist acts can be committed against them. Whereas average law abiding citizens are exposed to crime and violence.
4. A special feast awaits them during special and auspicious days of the calendar. Flowers are also presented to them on these days. With food prices shooting up, it is difficult for the poor people to even get one meal a day.
The hardship they must be enduring now after falling down to earth from a very high position has been a debacle for them. But they shouldn't fee) too bad if they count these blessings for thorn Anonymous One-mail
Traffic jam
Traffic jam is one of the most irritat-ing problems in Bangladesh Everyone feels it but none seems to think about the situation or a possible solution. Communication is an important aspect of our day to day life. And as such the negative effect of traffic jam can better be felt than described.
So movements on the roads must be regulated by certain rules which we call traffic rules. But who bothers about such rules in Bangladesh?
Ahmed Ishtiak (Rifat) Student of Class VI Mugdapara, Dhaka
Prices of CI sheets
We, the majority people in Bangladesh, five in rural areas and cannot construct RCC & brick based strong, comfortable and decent houses. We opt for building our houses with wood, bamboo and corrugated iron (CI) sheets, as those materials for constructing houses are less costly and more or less durable. But recently we have been observing with concern that prices of all these materials of house building have gone sky high. For example, a mature full-length bamboo that is suitable for house building costs Tk 180.00 per piece, which cost Tk 100.00 a few years back. In the retail market one can-
not think of purchasing one eft garjan wood for less than Tk 1, 500.00, which was Tk 1,000.00 last year. The prices of CI sheets have gone too high. The retail price of a bundle of CI sheet of standard thickness to make roof is Tk.7, 500.00, whereas it was around Tk.2,800 00 three years back We know that when an industrial product is produced in a country, people can enjoy the advantage of reduced prices. Two decades back CI sheets were imported from foreign counties, e g. Australia, Japan etc. In the last and present decade a few large industrial factories have been set up in Dhaka and Chittagong to produce iron sheets and galvanizing those sheets, that is, CI sheets are produced in Bangladesh now. The country is self-sufficient in CI sheets. We do not have to import CI sheets from abroad anymore. So it is not understood why people are not benefited by it.
I would like to appeal to the present government to take appropriate measures to reduce the prices of CI sheets.
Mohammad Ashraf Hossain Central Bashabo, Dhaka
Unsafe roads and highways
I refer to your editorial on the above subject published on the first of April. I'm afraid I cannot agree with
your conclusion that the solution lies in better law enforcement. Many years ago in a management school, I leamt that the solution to a problem is not necessarily one that is the best, or the ideal, but the solution that can be implemented. I believe that strict law enforcement such as speed control etc. will not solve the problem. It is just impossible to enforce. What is the speed limit on our national highways? Nobody knows, let alone enforce it. How does one enforce it, without radar speed detectors or similar equipment? And does the speed limit have any value when the roads are potted and rickshaws and pedestrians walk on the same road. 1 suggest instead that the only solution lies in the owners of such vehicles imposing proper driyii^habitson their drivers. This can only be done if the ownen could be penalized for loss of life or injury caused by their vehicles, whatever the cause maybe.
I wonder what happened to compulsory insurance, which we heard about many years ago. Possibly the mechanism could be compulsory insurance for accidents with very hefty premiums. The premium can come down if the owners can avoid any accident Eventually, the owner will take care of his driver and his vehicle when the penny pinches.
AHasanat Khan
Uttara, Dhaka