MAILBOX

Being Responsible
I very much appreciate the cover story for its fresh perspectives toward corporate social responsibility. I particularly enjoyed reading about how BSRM group started doing CSR inspired by a personal experience of its CSR chief. Stories like these prove that CSR is not entirely a hoax as many cynics would like to believe.
Tahnuma Khan
DOHS, Dhaka
***
Many large companies in our country are not compliant with the rules, regulations and laws of the land. Garment factories, for example, need to do a lot more to make the working conditions better for their workers. If companies do not pay workers enough, if employees do not have healthcare and they cannot send their children to school, all the talk about social responsibility will be nothing but lip-service.
Nurul Huda
Badda, Dhaka
 

An Irony
Like always, last week's Chintito was a fun read. I would like to thank him for pointing out an irony:  we trust our maids with our children but not with our valuable possessions!
Safiur Rahman
Lalbag, Dhaka

A Lone Bird Called Das
I don't recall the last time I read such a powerful piece about a poet.  A  tribute to one of the finest poets in the world, the article  is written in  an unusual  style  through which the writer makes the reader have a conversation with a poet who is long gone but whose work still resonates in the world. Articles like these make the Star especial in our hearts and minds.
Jenifer Huq
Dhanmondi, Dhaka

Photo: courtesy DBBL

Why Immunise?
Although it's true that newborn babies are immune to many diseases because they have antibodies they got from their mothers,  the duration of this immunity may last only a month to about a year. Further, young children do not have maternal immunity against some vaccine-preventable diseases, such as whooping cough.  If a child is not vaccinated and is exposed to a disease germ, the child's body may not be strong enough to fight the disease. Before vaccines, many children died from diseases that vaccines now prevent, such as whooping cough, measles, and polio. Those same germs exist today, but babies are now protected by vaccines, so we do not see these diseases as often. I hope the article will help raise awareness to popularise vaccination in our country.
Humayun Rashid
Via Email

Medical college in Sunamganj
Not much development has taken place in Sunamganj since the British period.  For example, there is no medical college in Sunamganj where students can study medicine. A full-fledged medical college may be established here next to the government medical college to provide the local people with better health care facility and a chance to fulfil their dream of becoming doctors.
Md  Ashraf Hossain
Sunamganj

Sculpting the spirit of Liberation
As a student of Dhaka University, I have always been proud of Aparajeyo Bangla and now I am glad to learn about its creator, Syed Abdullah Khalid. Honestly speaking, I did not know much about him before this article. The writer deserves my heartfelt thanks for writing about this great sculptor who has immortalised the liberation war on the edifice of which this country was established.

Sm Golam Rabby
4th year Dept of Political Science Dhaka University
***
As a student of DU and a son of a DU professor, I have lived on campus all my life. Aparajeyo Bangla has become a part of my life. Whenever I look at it, I feel very proud of our glorious liberation war. Thanks to the writer for writing the story behind this wonderful creation. I request the Star to keep publishing these kinds of interesting stories.
Raihan, DU

Attention Needed
The National University of Bangladesh is the largest university of Bangladesh in terms of number of students. And yet we have the worst session jam in this university. Results are also almost never published on time. We urge the government to take immediate steps to solve these problems.
Bipul, Saiful, Mijan & Mamun
 Department of English
Dhaka College, Dhaka

An Impending Crisis
I was shocked to learn that the Sangu gas field 'collapsed' due to overproduction. So here is the vicious circle: If customers do not get gas, they sometimes organise strikes and adopt violent means to protest, and if the authorities keep on exploring the existing gas fields to meet the increasing demand, the fields will collapse. It seems that there is no easy solution to the problem. The reality is we simply have too many people living in a country where natural resources are scarce. We need to start thinking about long term solutions to meet our energy needs, as suggested by the writer of this article.
Ali Asgar Rizvi
Barisal

Reluctant Patients
Every year thousands of patients suffering from mild to life threatening diseases go to India, not to mention other countries, to seek medical treatment for two reasons. The treatment they receive there is reliable and affordable. Is it not a shame that we cannot trust our own doctors and we have to depend on foreign doctors to save our lives? It is true that many modern hospitals in the country, as the writer points out, may have amenities that are found only in posh hotels. Only if they had what patients expect them to have-medical care that can be trusted!
Nazma Zaman
Minto Road, Dhaka

Photo: Anurup Kanti Das