Editorial | The Daily Star

  • Neglect of railway dispensaries must stop

    One doctor is clearly not enough in a dispensary where the number of patients coming in every day is around 40. And if that same doctor has to attend five other dispensaries in other districts, there is no question that the task is impossible.

  • No child should have to live on the street

    The sight of children begging and sleeping on the streets in the capital has, unfortunately, become so common that it has ceased to arouse our collective conscience anymore.

  • Two major unemployment concerns for Bangladesh

    Out of 28 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Bangladesh has the second highest educated unemployment rate. The report titled “Asia-Pacific Employment and Social Outlook 2018” also revealed youth unemployment in Bangladesh to have doubled between 2010 and 2017, in a short span of only seven years.

  • Ill-advised comments

    We are used to hearing from time to time comments varying from the sublime to the ludicrous from members of successive election commissions.

  • Why is govt. primary school enrolment falling?

    The falling rate of enrolment in government primary schools across the country should be a cause for worry, given the stress on education at this level, although the number of schools has increased during this time, according to a Directorate of Primary Education (DPE) study.

  • Scrutinising election officials

    That the police is gathering background information about potential polling officials, who would oversee the forthcoming election, and their families, is surprising.

  • Ramu probe reports remain unheard

    It is unfortunate that some of the worst incidents of communal violence that erupted in Ramu of Cox's Bazar in 2012 are yet to be brought to the notice of the High Court (HC) for hearing.

  • A village without the basic minimum facilities

    At a time when the government is continuously propagating its achievements in terms of the development works they have done, it is frustrating to learn that there are still villages in the country where there are no primary schools.

  • Why is RTA not being gazetted?

    It is very demoralising for all citizens to see the apparent foot-dragging on implementing the Road Transport Act 2018 (RTA 2018),

  • Unwarranted clash

    The sudden clash between BNP activists and the police on Wednesday in front of the BNP office was both surprising and distressing.

  • Increase women's representation in parliament

    Some 150 female politicians belonging to Awami League, BNP and Jatiya Party voiced a demand for political parties to nominate at least 30 percent seats for women at a conference on “Advancing women's leadership in the national elections” on November 13.

  • Rohingyas in Bangladesh

    In the past several months, it seemed increasingly likely that Bangladesh would face an odd situation over the impending repatriation of the Rohingya refugees—returning them to an incorrigibly hostile Myanmar or letting them stay on at the expense of an already overburdened host country.

  • A good example of bad planning

    After a delay of six years from original project completion date, the Dhaka-Chattogram expanded highway was inaugurated in June, 2017 at a final cost of Tk 3,439 crore which was a markup of 58 percent (due to repeated revisions in design).

  • Why must our workers in Qatar suffer?

    We are appalled by the news of around 300 Bangladeshi migrant workers living in dire conditions in a Qatar labour camp as they have not been paid by their employer for the last six months.

  • What is the rationale for the 7-day deferral?

    We are quite puzzled by the Election Commission's decision to defer the general election by a week.

  • Equal before the law

    The truth of the statement that justice delayed is justice denied cannot be overstated. Quick disposal of cases is undoubtedly crucial for effective dispensation of justice, and no accused should have to be in custody a minute longer than justice states.

  • Humanity at its worst

    What we have witnessed in a recent incident where a woman was blindfolded, beaten and murdered in a moving bus after her father was thrown off it is a manifestation of humanity at its worst.

  • A ludicrous excuse

    We are taken aback by the public works secretary's recent remark that the Detailed Area Plan (DAP) for Dhaka has been altered because no one wanted to comply with its original version.

  • Bangladesh Election logo

    Permit only paper material for publicity

    The EC has formally asked all the political parties and candidate hopefuls to remove their posters, banners and other campaign materials within the next seven days since it is against the law to campaign and bring out processions and stage showdowns until candidates have been allotted electoral symbols. We hope the EC will be able to ensure that its orders are implemented.

  • Largest wildlife sanctuary under threat

    Is there no alternative to constructing a road through a government-declared wildlife sanctuary? The very idea of the R&H Department building a road through one of the largest secondary forests in the country—a sanctuary for a variety of flora and fauna—is extremely illogical and incongruous considering the relevant government policy.

  • The EC now has immense power

    The announcement by the Election Commission that the 11th parliamentary election will be held on December 23 has brought to the fore the uphill task ahead of the Election Commission.

  • Strikes cannot hold patients hostage

    During the two-day transport strike, from October 29 to October 30, at least three critically ill children died on their way to hospital. The transport workers did not let the ambulances or, in one particular case, a rickshaw, which were carrying sick kids, to proceed to the hospital.

  • Indiscriminate arrests can't ensure level playing field

    Thousands of people, said to be linked to the opposition parties, have been detained before and after the Oikyafront's rally at Suhrawardy Uddyan on Tuesday.

  • Unplanned and unapproved buildings

    In the span of two days, reports in this paper have covered instances of multi-storey buildings being constructed in Rajshahi city. In both cases, the under-construction buildings subsided and in one instance caused damage to a neighbouring building.

  • Prepare for fallout from trade war

    Experts voiced concerns over the souring of relations between China and the US as the trade war between these two global economic powerhouses heats up.

  • Not-so-amicable second round

    It was good to see the second round of talks between the ruling coalition and Oikyafront held in an amicable atmosphere.

  • Kurigram's general hospital in a mess!

    The Kurigram General Hospital was upgraded to 250 beds in 2010. Eight years down the line there is a crisis in service delivery because physicians and staff have accommodation problems.

  • Gaibandha Santal

    Why have the evicted Santals not been rehabilitated yet?

    It is shocking that even after two years, around 1,200 Santal families evicted from their homes in Gaibandha are still living a life of destitution, uncertainty and fear. An eviction drive led by local influentials resulted in the death of three Santal men with many others injured, some with life-long physical impairment. Some Santals are still missing.

  • 10 months of unpaid wages cannot be justified

    There is simply no excuse as to why healthcare workers of four City Health Centres and one Maternity Centre in Barishal have not been paid their wages for 10 months.

  • The rich getting richer

    There is no doubt that Bangladesh has made tremendous progress in economic growth in the last few decades. But there is also the inescapable fact that income inequality in the country has gone up sharply.

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