Please put a stop to mindless hartals

Photo: MAHABUB ALAM KHAN / DRIKNEWS

Hatals are taking place at the worst of times. Ordinary and Advanced level candidates are now taking their examinations - international examinations, nonetheless - and have to suffer as much as even having to wait six months to re-take the exams if the hartals continue for a long period of time. Issues like budget or caretaker government will not be solved with hartal. Please attempt to put a stop to these strikes, as their ineffectiveness has been proven time and time again. It's about time our 'leaders' understand that. Why should we be caught in the middle of a pointless power-play?
Amiya Atahar
A level candidate
Sunbeams, Dhaka

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I urge the opposition party to assess the sorrows and sufferings common people are subjected to because of their hartal. They must understand that only common people, not the government, suffer from hartal tremendously. Let us, common people, make it clear that we would reject those who cause this sort of sufferings.
Dr M A Obaydullah
Banani, Dhaka
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This is to draw the attention of the BNP and its allies. Do you, who claim to be working for the welfare of the people of Bangladesh, even care what hardship and anxiety you are causing to countless young students who are being harmed by your hartal calls? These children have to sit for their exams at odd hours. They also fear that if the opposition calls non-stop hartals, their exams will be cancelled, jeopardizing their chances of applying for scholarships or admission to universities. If calling hartals is something that you cannot do without, could you not wait for the O and A level exams to be over?
A worried mother
Uttara, Dhaka
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I am writing in response to the oft repeated claim by the BNP leadership that the public participated spontaneously in the hartals called by them. The truth, if you do not know it already, is that the political parties, for solely their own benefit, terrorize the people into keeping away from the streets, their workplaces, etc, and shamelessly claim that the people have observed hartal. Please understand that if you keep on harming the people with your hartals, you will NOT BE VOTED TO POWER even if the caretaker government oversees the elections. The general masses are just FED UP with your selfish calls for hartals.
Irene Sultan
Dhanmondi, Dhaka
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The BNP always claims that they do politics for the people. As far as we are concerned, this time they have called hartal to protest a comment of the Prime Minister about the continuation of caretaker government. In her statement, the Prime Minister said that there was no scope of caretaker government to be continued as per high court directives. Furthermore, she has shown remarkable kindness by making scope for dialogue on the issue. It may be said that this hartal was groundless like other ones. Any national issue can be discussed in the parliament. The opposition leader should go to the parliament or innovate some other program which is harmless for the country.
Sabuj Sheikh
Sir A.F Rahman Hall, Dhaka University