Thursday, September 3, 2009

'Changes’ we are actually experiencing!

It’s been eight months since Awami League (AL) has taken over the power to govern the country. Bringing ‘change’ in every sector was an important issue of their election manifesto.

AL did manage to build up a higher expectation among Bangladeshis, which brought them this massive victory in the election. Besides the failure of the previous governments, both the BNP-led four party and the caretaker governments to control corruption and prices of daily necessaries had a significant role behind the absolute majority of AL. But the after-election scenario is not looking so good at all for the government as well as the mass people. Newspapers and other TV channels are bringing cats out of the bugs- like news of hundreds of offensive activities led by AL leaders-activists and its other concerns like Bangladesh Chhatra League and Bangladesh Jubo League. But unfortunately we noticed that the government is silent about the issues like the previous governments did in their terms. The Prime Minister herself failed to control these wing organisations of the party. It seems that the whole country has become their own property and they can do whatever they will.

The same situation is happening right to the opposite of Savar Bazar, in the channel of Fortnagar in Dhamrai Thana. Some of the local leaders are drawing sands from the riverbed. There is no government authorisation of this kind of dredging. Locals said that they are erupting sand with the support of local MP.

Anyone can observe the massive impacts of this dredging. The two sides are breaking. There is anxiety and tension rising among the people. People are watching their activities silently with sadness in their eyes. And it is reported that local people are continuously being threatened to keep silent and not to open their mouth in front of media. There are watchmen set all the way from the mouth of the channel and to the dredging site to stop intruders. And it is said that they are armed. The local administration is mysteriously silent as the local Member of Parliament inaugurated this.

So, are these changes the AL-led government wanted to ‘force’ into countrymen?

N. Hasan

hellinside@gmail.com

Savar, Dhaka

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