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| Volume 10 |Issue 20 | May 27, 2011 | |
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Letters Illegal Price Hikes
No matter what the price of commodities is, the general public, especially the ones from middle-income backgrounds always suffer. People who are from affluent backgrounds do not get affected by sudden price hikes, neither do the businessmen who sell their products in the market. It is the people who earn a limited income become the ultimate victims of price rises. In other words, the middle-class consumers are always the victims. A recent example of such impartiality is the unforeseen rise in bus fares. People who have fixed low incomes can hardly afford to pay higher bus fares. Buses are their daily means of transportation and a rise in bus fares is definitely an added burden to their many problems. The bus and CNG auto-rickshaw authorities give poor excuses that they had to increase their fares to account for the oil and CNG gas prices. But, despite the fact that the government has given them the facility to increase their fares to an affordable level, these profit-making transport businessmen continue to harass the helpless commuters by charging higher fares illegally. Due to a slack in proper implementation of law the criminals get away unpunished in our country. I urge the government to take strict action against these corrupt transport companies. Naome Syed Through the window The Chittagong University shuttle train runs between two neglected colonies. If a traveller looks out the window, the first thing they will see is children, dressed in torn clothes running around and playing beside the train. These children are clearly deprived of basic needs. They constantly fight against malnutrition, poverty and diseases. The people living in these slum areas are ignorant about birth control and family planning. Slum areas adjacent to the Chittagong railway station are highly populated. Unplanned birth is creating population problem, a root problem of our country, which should be taken seriously. We can turn this problem into our strength when the population fluctuates at a moderate rate. But population is so high that this will not be easy to accomplish. So, I hope the concerned authorities will look into the matter as soon as possible. Mahmudul Hasan Hemal More Ambassadors Needed For decades there's been only a modicum of media interest in Bangladesh around the world, other than in our usual natural disasters. Now Banglasdeshi names are popping-up and bringing much recognition for the country. The pioneer to transverse all frontiers, of course is Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus who promoted Bangladesh globally more than anyone else. Last year the humble, ever-smiling Musa Ibrahim of Mount Everest fame gave us another morale boost. Also on my Roll of Honour is Sir Frank Peters. He's not a Bangladeshi, but it's sometimes hard to tell! When he's in the UK he speaks of it on radio and TV interviews as if Bangladesh were his motherland. We need more ambassadors like them. Farzana Hussain Left Debacle in West Bengal
Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Bannerjee has struck at the very heart of the left in West Bengal with a crushing victory that has brought to an end the longest reign of any left bloc in India. The election in West Bengal indicates again that public is the main source of state power. It is we who forget after being elected as a member of local or national polls and become detached from the masses. We try to fulfill our own self interest denying the people's expectations. The state election in West Bengal is a warning even for the MPs of Bangladesh. We should learn from this election and should be honest and respectful toward the public and should do our duties to show the public that we value them. Otherwise the public will teach us a good lesson. Mohammed Jashim Uddin Retired Heroes
Every year more than 10,000 government employees go into retirement after serving our country for many long years. In view of my personal experience, I have come to learn that retired persons are not well treated in our society. People consider them useless and good for nothing. But they are the persons who used to do much for the development of our country. They can still perform influentially for the development of our country if they get a chance. Most of them also have health problems. These persons are not the burden of our society as they have been considered rather they are an asset. They could work as the advisors to any institutions, companies and multi-national companies. Their past experience could play a vital role in the development of the country. In the developed countries the retired persons do much in administration and consultation sectors. I would like to request our present government to rehabilitate the retired persons in different sectors of our country. Md Zahidul Islam Zibon Submission Guideline: Letters to the Editor, Star Diary and Write to Mita, with the writer's name and address, should be within 200 words. All articles should be within 1,200 words. A cover letter is not necessary, but every write-up should include the writer's name, phone number and email address (if any). While The Star welcomes unsolicited articles and photographs, it cannot accept the responsibility of their loss or damage. The Star does not return unsolicited articles and photos. Response time for unsolicited write-ups ranges from three weeks to two months. All articles submitted are subject to editing for reasons of space and clarity.
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