The Prime Minister of the country has been awarded by the UN for achieving one of the Millennium Development Goals, that is reducing child mortality. The target was fixed in 2000, and the then incumbent government got only one year to run the country. In 2001, BNP came to power and ruled the country for five years. Then the caretaker government ruled the country for almost two years. The present government has been at the helm only for nineteen months. So, the credit should go to all the governments that ruled the country since 2000.

Another point is, from the time of PM's arrival the sufferings that the people of the city, including the students, went through was intolerable and totally unacceptable.

My question is - was the reception so important which eventually made the people suffer? The award giving ceremony was telecast in the media, was it not enough? Besides, it was not her personal achievement; rather it was our national achievement.

The money the ruling party spent for arranging the gathering could be spent for the rehabilitation of a good number of destitute children who sleep on the streets with their stomach empty. Did anybody think of it? If they did, Bangladesh could have obtained awards for achieving some of the goals within the timeframe fixed by the UN. Anis Rahman

Zahurul Haque Hall Dhaka University