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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
letters@thedailystar.net
Deafening vuvuzela
Bangladeshis, irrespective of religion, caste or creed celebrate Pahela Baishakh every year. Different traditional Bangali items such as flutes, potteries, handicrafts and fascinating masks are the central attractions of this day. But in recent years vuvuzela has taken the place of flute. It has become a topic of debate whether this should be used in our traditional programmes because of the excruciating noise it makes.
This Pahela Baishakh while walking from SM hall to TSC, one of my friends with his electronic device estimated that the intensity of the sound of vuvuzela was near about 95dB. Generally, 105dB sound deafens human hearing power. According to Wikipedia, the high sound pressure level at close range can lead to permanent damage to unprotected ears.
Another concern is that this contraption is a threat to our traditional century-old bamboo flute. I am afraid, if this practice continues our traditional flutes may disappear and replaced by vuvuzela soon. We should stop playing this unfamiliar gadget to save our traditional musical instruments.
Ataur Rahman
Dept, of Bankia
Universit)' of Dhaka
500-year-old tree saved in Texas
The Texas' Department of Transportation (TxDOT) wanted to build a new road through the small farming community of Snook which required the removal of a 500 years old tree. Phyllis Tietjen, a CARE 2 member whose family owns the property wherein the tree is located for almost 150 years, filed a petition urging the TxDOT not to remove the tree and some other oak trees on their land. It may be mentioned here that CARE 2 is an online community, working to serve humankind through filing petition to stop injustice or unethical practices.
More than 68,000 members signed the petition and in early March the TxDOT announced it would reroute the planned highway bypass so as not to endanger the trees. I would like to thank the TxDOT for taking a wise decision and at the same time sincerely call upon the world community to save old historic trees and forest in general to protect our environment and the very planet we live in.
Professor MZahidul Haque
Department of Agricultural Extension & Information System, SAU, Dhaka
Comments on news report, "Abductors free Abu Bakar," published on April 18, 2014
Aasfisanvar
It was reported in the media that RAW had kidnapped one person from the HSJIA airport a few days ago. Our home minister does not know anything about it, so he claims. I wonder who could plan and execute such high profile kidnapping without the government's knowledge.
S.M. Iftakhar Rosul(Faisal)
We demand a stop to all kinds of abductions and want to see the abductors brought before the law.
Probashi
Please keep the pressure on to find the culprits who are still at large and the motive behind the abduction. The whole thing seems a little complicated as they did not demand any ransom.
Now we can hope that Sagar-Runi murder case will be resolved and Ilias Ali abduction mystery will also be unraveled.
Nasirullah Mridha, USA
AL government needs to be proactive to ease public agony once and for all.
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"Violence would have occurred" (April 17, 2014)
Aasfisanvar
If you cannot conduct an election without violence, prevent overnight ballot box stuffing and fail to take actions against the perpetrators, you better resign. You have no right to take public money as your salary, no right to spend money on national ID cards and certainly no right to lecture on standards and acceptability.
Nasirullah Mridha, USA
Mr. Rakib, if you are not able to tackle the election violence, why do you cling to the coveted post?
Hardreality
It's lame excuse. As a matter of fact, Mr. Rakib, you cannot justify your absence in any way as you left the country when you were needed the most. You are heading an institution that needs public confidence, trust and respect as this is one of the most important institution that shapes one of the fundamental pillars of democracy. What makes you think that you are still qualified for this job ?