Star Diary

Medicine: To Heal or Deal

A few days ago, I went to a local Medical College Hospital for some medical checkup. After finishing my consultation with the doctor, I came out of the hospital. When I reached the main gate, a couple of men approached me. They were formally dressed. They asked for my prescription. I couldn't help noticing that many other people were asking other visitors for their prescriptions. I later realised that, the men were agents of different drug companies. Some companies give commissions to the doctors, who prescribe their products. The aim is to encourage the doctors to keep prescribing their products.

The agents were checking if the doctors were prescribing the right products. I refused to show my prescription. But many other patients handed their prescriptions to them. The agents knew which medicines were advised to the patients. The incident made me perplexed and scared. Do the doctors prescribe drugs according to the illness of the patients or according to the companies they take commission from?

Nahid Sultana, Department of English
Govt Titumir College, Dhaka

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Not Safe Anywhere

There are miscreants all around us. We may not know when or how we may fall victim to them. The other day, I was going to one of my relative's house by bus. As it was a rush hour, the streets were jam-packed. As usual, there wasn't any empty seat in the bus, and I had to remain on my feet. A woman sat in front of me by the window. The bus had to take a right turn so it slowed down a bit. Right at that moment, a hand appeared in front of the women's throat and vanished in the blink of an eye. I couldn't even fathom what had happened. Then I learnt from the fellow passengers that a mugger had just snatched her necklace. From a distance, it must have looked like a gold necklace even though it was a piece of imitation jewellery. The woman could at least get some relief from the thought that she hadn't lost an expensive piece of jewelry. These kind of activities in the city really makes us feel insecure and helpless.

Fuad Hassan
Motijheel, Dhaka

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An Unpleasant Scenery

I am a regular commuter as I have to work five days a week. On my way I always see some people standing near the pavement in front of Dhaka College. But I never pay any heed to them, because I'm always in a hurry to reach my office on time. A few days ago, however, I went to that area for shopping, and out of curiosity I stopped in front of the College gate to find out what they were doing.

But I regretted the decision later. What I saw really disgusted me. People were urinating right at the main gate of Dhaka College. The stench of urine repelled me. It amazed me and I couldn't understand how the teachers and authorities concerned tolerate such a heinous activity happening under their very noses. Educational institutions are the symbol of purity, which should be preserved. I urge all the authorities concerned to take necessary steps to immediately stop such an unpleasant act.

M Noray Alam Rasel
Ex-MBA, SUST