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To The Editor
REHAB and the govt ordinance
I had bought a small apartment in Gulshan and have been residing
here for over ten years now. The builders who are very well known were supposed to form an apartment owners' cooperative society after handing over the apartments to the owners of my apartment complex. It is now over ten years that the builders have done nothing about it and have been collecting service charges to maintain our apartment complex. The builder gives a damn to any complaint you make to them. As proof of ownership of my flat the builder has given me a share certificate of the limited company in whose name the apart -ment complex is registered. The builder is enjoying a hefty income as service charges from the 27 apartments of our complex. The builder has also leased out a part of the roof to a mobile telecom operator. Now I feel my ownership of the apartment is at risk and wonder whom should I complain to. 1 am a retired person and I do not have so much money to go to the court.
I am surprised to see the advertisements of REHAB - the real estate builders association - protesting the government's move to enact a law through an ordinance
Fire at Aga Sadek Road Unplanned urbanisation is the main reason for the loss of lives. The fire of Sunday midnight at Aga Sadek Road should help the authorities concerned to wake up before the city growth gets out of control.
Nine lives were lost in the devastating fire. Who is to be blamed for it? Apparently, the fingers will be raised at the shoe-making factory .located at the ground floor of the [house from where the fire oflgi-‘nated. If we look deep down inside, we will get to see that the building which was gutted by fire did not have any Rajuk approval but still was occupied by people as residents. The staircase is too narrow for two people walking side by side. Unauthorised shops/factories were located in the ground floor, even though the area doesn't have enough wide roads for developing any sort of industry/factory.
It is true that the fire truck had difficulty arriving in the area, but my question is, at midnight the roads were empty and why the 1st fire truck which came to the spot was not carrying any water7 If it was carrying water, it could have immediately got into action which would have been more than enough to extinguish the fire. The 1st truck would have been good enough to save the lives if it had come with water. For the readers' information, the fire brigade office is less than half a kilometre away from the spot.
1 have talked to the locals and got the above information. The situation could have been worse if the locals did not act in fighting the fire and saving the lives of some residents of the building. Without the locals' interference the fire could have easily spread into the next buildings adjacent to the ill-fated one and could have easily turned into an inferno which could have destroyed thousands of houses and nearly a million lives of Aga Sadek Road, as majority of the houses in that area have more or less a shoe factory with all fire friendly chemicals.
Our sleeping city fathers of
Dhaka have always neglected the old part of the city and it is about time that the government and the authorities concerned take some immediate steps to save the people of Old Dhaka from fire and natural disasters such as earthquakes.
Let's not depend on the government services alone and let's all install at least one ABC and one Co2 fire fighting cylinders at every home, since we need to save ourselves.
SohelAhmed i .* -. ► Dhanmondi. Dhaka
Tata quits
Your business report (August:0L) highlighted the QED of Tata's on and off and on again heavy industries investment proposal. Simply stated, Tata possibly did not budge from its "no cheap gas; no investment" stand.
The responses of our business and economic heavy-weights make interesting reading; shying away from calling "a spade a spade", mostly based on generalities and skirting the realities in the proposal. Is this a reflection on their IQ on a realistic techno-economic evaluation skill of Tata's commercial proposal designed to meet Indian demands, and cleverly using our pure natural gas-ideally suited for making automobile grade steel sheet bar for the expanding automobile market in India?
I am aware of this as after my stint in the technical negotiating team and analysing Tata's attitude, I gave my personal written opinion to the then Industries Minister with copies to the officials way back in 2005. This was based on my intimate understanding of our steel product needs while working in Chittagong Steel Mills in the late 1960s and again in the 1970s (two stints) covering over ten years-- including as project head for eight years, in the difficult days of the 1970s.
Tata's proposal had no provisions for billets for re-bar and small section rolling locally was not suited to our product needs. It should have been rejected then,
but possibly the inculcation of the BNP gave Tata new hopes, butthat too did not reach the obvious conclusion which should have been "Thank you, sorry". Our unnecessary procrastination only gave a negative image of our government's "one step forward' two steps back" way of doing things. It is in line with the old tale about the monkey climbing a greased pole!
The most interesting response came from the BOI executive chair-tnan. He said, "If one goes, mar^ more will come"! May his optimism cometrue.
However, I hope he is also aware of an old saying "A bird in hand, is worth two in the bush"! But unfortunately, the "Tata Bird", even in hand, was untamed!
S .A. Mansoor
Engineer, Dhaka
Uncovered dustbins
In Dhaka city, uncovered dustbins are creating a big problem for the residents. Uncovered dustbins are found near the bus stands.
Yet, the DCC is not doing anything to solve the problem.
MushfiqueWadud
Departmen t of English
Stamford University Bangladesh
Price hike
It is a common scene that during the holy Ramadan some dishonest businessmen and middlemen try to raise the prices of the necessary food items as well as other products. Though the holy Ramadan is the month of abstinence and selfevaluation, but forgetting the moral or ethical ideals price is increased and an artificial crisis is created.
It is often forgotten by some traders and businessmen that upholding the religious spirit during the holy Ramadan is very much necessary.
Md. Bashir Uddin Khan Department of Criminology & Police Science
Mawlana Bhas han i Science & Technology University
to protect the interest of buyers of apartments from builders. There may be thousands like me who are mentally suffering after investing their hard earned money in real estate. The CTG should approve the ordinance which they have drafted or instruct the Anti Corruption Commission to accept complaints on priority basis from owners of apartments.
REHAB is crying foul because they know very well how they are playing with public money and lands with promises that in many cases may not be true.
A sufferer
On e-mail
Corruption
Corruption must be criticised vehemently, and there should be no compromise on it. Otherwise, we will not be able to wipe out corruption from society.
Belal Hossain
MA in Arabic Literature
University of Dhaka
Extra judicial killing
The series of extra-judicial killing in Bangladesh in recent times by law enforcers has again raised serious concern about the state of human rights. Even though the process, which was started by the BNP-Jamaat alliance government, was believed to be stalled when the present government took over, the reality however is that the process has not only continued, but has also been intensified in some cases. This is quite disturbing to people who love to see their motherland advancing towards the rule of law. We do not want to see that like its predecessor, the present government also wants to abuse power and show no respect for the rule of law. We do not want to see that the present government is merely a mirror image of its predecessors, like the popular saying
so far.
For no reason the subway project has been pending till 2002.
At present there is crisis of fuel all over the world and that is the reason why price of fuel has been increased a couple of times. Bangladesh has also adjusted the fuel price but the effect is not very good as the general people are suffering. The bus fare in Dhaka has been increased abnormally without following the government decision.
It is true that the Bangladesh government gives a huge amount of subsidy in the petroleum sector but how long will the process go on? A huge amount of fuel is wasted every day in Dhaka due to the traffic congestion. The environment is becoming toxic day by day. Most of the cities have developed their transport plan based on the population, fuel consumption &
Quota system in civil service
I have gone through the article written by Mr. Nurul Huda--"Quota System in Civil Service" published in The Daily Star on 22 July. He tried to depict the features of the quota system in civil service under the PSC. He explained the pros and cons of the quota system, especially the effect of this system on recruitment.
As a student, I know what the quota system means. This system deprives the meritorious.
M.R.Swapon
Dept, of Anthropology, RU
“Old wine in new bottle".
We rather would like you to be honest who uphold the rule of law, human rights and power of people, unlike like some previous autocrats.
Abdul Moyeen Australia
Introduce subway
Dhaka is the most densely populated mega-city in the world, no doubt about that and at present it is one of the dirtiest cities as well. Rate of pollution has also got a significant dimension. But no remedial measure has been taken
pollution rate. Some other factors are comfort, security, affordability & accessibility.
First of all, we have to make the metropolis congestion & pollution free. Decentralization is absolutely impossible here but relocation is possible. To do that a high speed mass transport is required. By that mode of transport people would be able to move from city entry points to the centre within a few minutes. Then buses would be used to communicate with the suburban areas. Congestion would be removed & pollution would be minimized.
However, to get such an environment a subway should be introduced as early as possible. Metro
Rickshaw crisis
If you go through the Rikabibazar road from Subidbazar in Sylhet city, certainly you will watch something. About one thousand rickshaws are locked up on the field of Sylhet Police Lines. I noticed it first about four years ago. And the number is increasing gradually. Perhaps those are apprehended as illegal rickshaws and the owners can't get them back owing to legal complexities. The parts of those vehicles are getting rusted and losing their worth.
In Sylhet, the cost of manufacturing a rickshaw is about Tk 15,000 to 20,000 . So it is a sheer waste of resources. People wait hour after hour on the street for a rickshaw. They have to compete with others in a hopeless situation. Yet, a large number of rickshaws remain stranded in the Police Lines!
Who will look after the needs of common people?
Md. Abdul Hamid Assis tan t professor Dept, of Business Administration Shah Jalal University, Sylhet
Deportation of Bangladeshi workers It’s a pity to see that the our countrymen are being deported from not only Kuwait but also a few other Middle Eastern countries and it is not the employers who should be condemned for this. We must remember that in business the customer is always right if we are to sell. It is very much our own men who must be condemned. In a country like ours, we ourselves are the real enemies. For the little extra benefit of ourselves, we sacrifice our national interests. When the neighbouring countries have their minimum wage scale, we could not provide our workers the same. It is only due to the corrupt practices of the agencies involved in the business and it is surprising that our government has never taken steps against these corrupt agencies, neither has it provided any security to the workers.
I believe that now this caretaker government will definitely look into the matter and take proper steps against the people engaged in this sort of cheating and help save this business, or we will probably be losing our job market in every country.
Dr. Omar Siddiqui
the "amjanata". I do not think I would be wrong if I say that the problem lies with us. We should have been throwing stones and showering garbage and old shoes on the "returnees". But what do we do?
The VIP jail birds (and I feel good that they will not read this letter either!) know the spineless character of those who are supposed to stand up against their wrong doing. So the returnees go on treating the amjanata with their old shoes and throw garbage speeches whenever and wherever needed.
We have been treated as such for the last 37 years. How long will this goon?
As if Khan
Circular Road
Dhanmondi, Dhaka
Election under j emergency
The British Minister Mrs. Blears told the press in Sylhet that "election under emergency is difficult but not impossible".
A similar view was also expressed by the previous High Commissioner Anwar Chowdhury before his departure from Dhaka. This affirmation of the British government clearly indicates that the UK wants to see a free, fair and credible election in Bangladesh and smooth transition to democratic rule but not at the cost of people's lives and properties. The British, the closest development partner of Bangladesh, very well know the ground reality here, and do not want return of the pre-one-eleven situation of killing, hartal, intimidation of voters etc.
The present CTG's main task is to hold a free, fair and credible election keeping in view the safety and security of people's lives and properties. If full withdrawal of emergency compromises the security of lives, the CTG should take adequate measures before doing so.
The common people want to go to the polling stations without fear and cast their votes freely. The CTG should ensure that. People are waiting for a change where they can pursue their daily activities without interference of extortionists under the next elected government.
Shafiqul Islam
On e-mail
rail is totally free from emission & cost of electricity consumption is much less. Thousands of crores of taka is wasted due to congestion, high consumption & subsidy, whereas the cost of total set-up of the underground metro rail is only Tk 7,000 crore.
Monorail/sky-train is not the right choice for not only less passenger catering capacity but also because there is always a speed constraint for the elevated struc-tures. Moreover, formonorail/sky-train the existing electric lines have to be shifted to the underground & new lines would have to be used for supplying electricity to the trains. Again people feel psychologically stressed to go upward. Hong Kong has a single light rail line among all the metro rail lines & the line has totally failed to meet the requirements & they have treated introduction of that line as a great mistake.
The government should emphasize the mass transport (underground), instead of short term waste of money.
Engr. Shafiqul Alam One mail
Dhaka
Why don't they feel ashamed?
While reading Shahnoor Wahid's column today (Aug.05), one thing popped up in my mind. That these "VIP jail returnees" would never ever feel slightest of shame for the reasons they were sent to jail. I asked myself "Why?" Why don't they feel ashamed ? Are they better humans than we are? Have they reached the stage of "Nirban" like other Mohamanobs? What sort of characteristics make them so shameless? If I were sent to jail( God forbid !) for even an hour, my family would never let me enter my house again. Not any one in my neighbourhood would garland me for spending a night in jail. But as Shahnoor Wahid has pointed out the "amjanata" will stand by the side of the road to garland these thieves. People will dance at their return, even knowing very well that these thieves anti crooks have drained out the very lifeblood of
It is a great example for us that emergency rule could be positive for conducting a free and fair election. From the recently held city corporation polls, we realise that people's participation was self motivated and spontaneous. It may not be an exaggeration to say that people got at least a peaceful environment to go to the polling centres.
We have the experience of the past elections. In those times, the voters faced, more or less, pressure from the cadres of some candidates which was, I think, fairly absent in the recently held polls.
As we(most of the Bangladeshis) do not follow the rules and regulations unless we face strict measures, this type of emergency rule will help the electoral process.
Simultaneously, the government should ensure that the law enforcers would remain neutral under all circumstances.
Ali Ahmed
MSS student
SUST
Sylhet