Letters
Atmosphere on Campus
University is a place to churn out finished manpower. It is the factory where our workforce is shaped. It is also a place where individuals spruce themselves up not only for their career but also for their decent social life as the best citizens of the country. Regrettably the situation in Bangladesh is quite different. Funnily enough, when we walk around the campus of DU, we routinely have some unpleasant experience. Lunatics and drug-addicts occupy large stretches of the pavement. They happen to take shelter on the sidewalks and usually relieve themselves here and there which creates stinking smell and contributes to the unhygienic atmosphere. Moreover students and outsiders tend to throw garbage such as wrappers, paper, bottles etc here and there since there are no specific dustbins inside the campus. During the rain, fetid and stagnant water worsens the situations. We know academic activities are partially hampered if hygiene issue is given short shrift. Once the highest educational institute accommodates this environment, it will certainly belittle our image to the foreigners who tend to pay a visit to the campus. This lowers the reputation of the Oxford of the East.
Md Jamil Akhter
Dhaka University
Separation of Judiciary
The most talked about separation of judiciary bill was passed in parliamentary but how can we call it (judiciary) separated while the executive magistrates are allowed to take the cognisance of offences in any situation for trial? Has the legislative body thought for a single moment about the ultimate consequence of this provision before passing this bill? As a nation we have the dubious distinction of being corrupt. We need proper checks and balances among the various branches of our state.
AM Nuruddin Sohag
Department of Law
University of Chittagong
Maddening Traffic
That Dhaka city is one of the most densely populated and polluted cities of the world is a very inconvenient truth. Very recently, the most crucial crisis, which has drawn our sharp attention, is traffic jam. It seems that roads of this megacity have become almost synonymous with traffic jam. The dimension of public suffering has reached it's peak at the advent of holy month of Ramadan and crossed the limit of tolerance leaving a pervasive disastrous effect on our citizen's lives. This horrendous problem kills numerous working hours as people cannot reach their destinations in time, which is detrimental to the individual and national interest. But the government still seems to be naive and ineffective in tackling this vexing nuisance. The previous governments simply failed to bring about any noticeable change. But the current government promised a wind of change when it was elected and therefore, it should look into the matter with utmost sincerity for the welfare of the people as well as for retaining the public trust. Because people no more believe in tall tales but in implementation of plans. So, launching a holistic approach is a crying need now.
Shahadat Hussein
Department of English
DU
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Dhaka city dwellers like me suffer a myriad problems every day which make life intolerable. The foremost is the problem of mobility within the city. The traffic system is a mess. The free style indiscipline as well as mismanagement on the roads lead to utter chaos, road rage and total breakdown of order, resulting in persistent traffic jams. Consequently, moving even a kilometer within the city at rush hour often takes more than an hour! Negotiating through the chaotic traffic is an exercise in insanity.
However, in spite of the immense suffering, people seem resigned to being stuck in gridlock every single day. As a daydreamer I often wonder how living and moving around in Dhaka would be like, if:
1. All trains were terminated at Tongi, freeing 100+ level crossings upto Narayanganj from the scourge of traffic jams.
2. The freed rail track from Tongi to Narayangaj were converted into a 20 meter wide double track path way: road at ground level and elevated railway for light trains at level-1.
3. Single decker buses were disallowed within Dhaka city. Buses plying within the city were double deckers only, halving the number of plying buses.
4. All garments factories within Dhaka city were relocated to Adamjee.
5. The Ministries of Agriculture, Fishery, Poultry, Livestock & Forest were relocated to Mymensingh; The Ministry of LGRD were relocated to Comilla; The Ministry of Ports & Shipping were relocated to Chittagong; The Railways Department were relocated to Sirajganj (for the north) & to Chittagong (for the south).
6. VVIPs moved aerially within the city.
7. Weekly holidays for establishments within Dhaka city were staggered over the entire week, eg., (i) Govt/Semi-Govt Offices: Friday & Saturday; (ii) Educational Institutions: Sunday & Monday; (iii) Markets/Shopping Malls: Tuesday; (iv) Factories: Wednesday;
(v) NGOs/Banks/Docs/Lawyers: Thursday.
Would there then be more elbow room to move around freely within Dhaka city on time, without traffic jams? I suppose my daydream will remain just that -- a distant dream.
Yaminul Islam
Dhaka
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