Welcome, <i>goodbye</i>

As we ring in 2011 and say goodbye to 2010, the last thing we want to do is bid a tearful farewell to a friend or a loved one killed in an accident caused by a reckless driver. The year 2010 passed with all its happenings--good and bad. The start of war crimes trial process and the scrapping of the fifth and seventh amendments were something we will look back on with pride. And then there were some incidents not that easy to forget, especially the tragic deaths on roads and in fire, which dominated the headlines throughout the year. The day like today will come and go, but we human beings won't. We come but once and go forever. So, let's rally to help ensure safe roads and workplace for all. In the year gone out, the prices of essentials continued skyrocketing. Some basic food items turned doubly costlier. Public utilities, house rent, conveyance, education, recreation and what-not were on the race to be pricier. The cost of living has gone way beyond belt-tightening for commoners. Even the bravest of finance ministers would not dare to prepare a monthly budget for a family in lower-mid income brackets. In 2011, we want our government to give people some much-needed respite, instead of putting it all down to market manipulations. With the climate changing and crucial projects unchanging, people embrace the New Year with worries aplenty. Our wait for the UN funds seems destined to linger. However, we must reckon that funds alone are not going to solve our weather woes; we need to build first our capacity to utilise the funds. We saw little progress in the efforts to conserve the environment. Plunderers denuded vast swathes of forest despite laws that forbid tree-felling. We always had laws to protect rivers, canals and water bodies from grabbers and polluters. Ironically though, the laws exist and so do the encroachers and polluters. In 2011, we expect the government to turn things around. The crises of gas and electricity went from bad to worse in 2010. Threatening to be at the worst this year, they will surely test the patience of people. Like those in the communications sector, all major energy projects failed to cross the tender hurdles or remained stuck in implementation phase. We don't expect any miracle in one year but hope the government will stop talking big and start delivering. Politics remained confrontational as ever. Awami League completes two years in office in about a week and the main opposition BNP keeps on turning its back on parliament. Rival lawmakers did not lock horns in the legislature over any issues in the public interest. Politics was taken to courts and streets at times, but that too for mere partisan gains. In the months to come, we hope, it will at last dawn on our politicians that they have been elected to serve the people, and they'd better come back where they belong--the Jatiya Sangsad.