Letters
Abolition of Quota for Government Jobs
Four decades have passed since Bangladesh earned its independence through the great war of liberation. Bangladesh's fight for freedom originated from disparity. When a citizen has the necessary qualifications to perform a government job, he or she must have equal opportunity to serve. But different quotas, which have been followed for the last couple of decades, have made a mockery of the doctrine of equal opportunity. It has created a sort of disparity amongst job seekers, to the detriment of the nation. Quotas exist for women, children of freedom fighters, inhabitants of different districts, aborigine, autistic people, etc. About 55% of jobs have been reserved under quota selection and the remaining 45% have been kept for merit-based selection. How can this be fair? Moreover, owing to filling of the majority of government posts by quota in the last four decades, the quality of personnel in government establishments has fallen drastically. Ultimately the public administration has become inefficient. Appointment of government servants under quota system should be abolished immediately. Selection for appointment in government jobs should be based strictly on merit.
Md Ashraf Hossain
Ramna, Dhaka
An Insult to Intelligence
The Prime Minister recently said there was proof that Shibir had infiltrated Chhatra League when asked by her own party leaders to take action against the unruly BCL cadres. This shows that the ruling party is not serious about controlling the musclemen from their own party. Is the PM deluding herself? If there is proof, why is the PM not taking action against the infiltrators? When the opposition did something wrong during their rule, it was their fault. But when the AL does something wrong, it is still the opposition's fault? The PM's stance is an insult to our intelligence. She is telling us that from Teknaf to Tetulia, all the tender snatching, admission manipulation, extortion and armed attacks are being carried out by Shibir in the guise of BCL? The machete-wielding cadres of the Chhatra League have been photographed by various newspapers in the recent past. Are they all Shibir agents? Our politicians should know that it is not possible to fool all the people all the time.
Md Abu Jafar
Uttara, Dhaka
Journalism and The Star
The Star magazine, a weekly publication of the Star Family, has for years been quenching the thirst of the avid readers with its wide variety of articles, not to mention the counseling page 'Write to Mita'. We the readers do indeed benefit from your in-depth news coverage on different contemporary socio-political and economic topics. It is my observation as a regular reader that you always try your level best to unravel the truth and unearth the mystery behind every story. It is indeed a dynamic effort. In essence there is food for thought for every age group in your weekly magazine. Needless to say, the pictorial presentation is also excellent. However, you should take a pioneering role to promote some of the service industries of our country like tourism. Side by side you can also take a proactive role in initiating a brand name for Bangladesh in order to introduce this wonderful country to foreigners through your esteemed magazine. We the readers can assure you that we shall be with you in your effort to do anything good for the country. Wish The Star magazine continued success and glory in the days to come.
Shahadat
Jurain, Dhaka.a
Fire Hazard at Popular Cafes
In the Gulshan-Banani area, some posh eating outlets popular among younger people do not have adequate fire safety measures. Most have only one entrance-exit facility. The same applies to the popular joints in Dhanmondi. One building is virtually sitting on a furnace. It has commercial burners overlooking the pavement, and part of the footpath is occupied for serving food in the evenings. The whole pavement and road crossing become congested with characteristic traffic jam till late at night. Another restaurant in the same building has only one entrance -- also used as an exit facility which is hardly four feet wide! It is quite predictable what could happen in case of a fire in both the popular eating places. Surely these upscale cafes can afford to have an emergency fire exit? Why have the restaurant owners concerned, not done anything about this? And why have the authorities turned a blind eye to this situation? Will it take a disaster to wake us up?
Dr Sabiha Sultana
Dhanmondi, Dhaka.
Bold Measures to Tackle Traffic
Traffic congestion is already a typical feature of urban life in Dhaka city and it is getting worse day by day. The ever increasing number of private cars is mainly responsible for this situation. On the other hand, with the upcoming Ramadan, the invasion of unauthorised rickshaws has already started since the last few weeks. In this situation, can we consider some of the following measures?
- In order to control private cars on the street, make a schedule to allow vehicles with odd and even number plates on alternate days of the week, excepting Friday. This will reduce the number of cars by 50 per cent on the streets and definitely ease the pain of waiting on the road for hours.
- All minibuses and human haulers should be replaced by 50+ seater large buses (one such bus can carry three minibus-loads of travelers).
- Crack down on rickshaw garages from Jatrabari to Gabtoli and Tongi to Narayanganj so that no illegal rickshaws are released from now on.
Dr K Maudood Elahi
Dhanmondi, Dhaka.
Corrigendum
In last week's cover story, “Inside the Labyrinth of Books”, the name of Muktadhara's Director was misspelled. The correct spelling is Jahar Lal Saha. Also in the story, Chittaranjan Saha was inadvertently mentioned as Jahar Lal Saha's father; he was, in fact, his brother-in-law. We sincerely regret the error.
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