Biman's image
Zeba I Seraj Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Dhaka
Recently, I went to a trip to New Delhi and learnt that even the garbage disposal was being privatised in the city in order to make it efficient and recyclable. What has happened to privatisation of Bangladesh Biman, in order to provide our National Carrier with a modicum of efficiency? On our outward journey, the carrier was late by four hours; the ground staff did not feel the necessity of informing this to us when we were checking in. On our way back via Calcutta, we were suddenly told that the plane, which was to carry us, had not been able to leave Dhaka because of mechanical faults! Imagine the state of mind of the passengers: we would be stranded or else flying on a plane with mechanical shortcomings! Too few planes, old planes, budget deficits and to top this, indiscretion by the staff ! We heard an Indian business group muttering that it would have been better if they had flown to Dhaka through Dubai using Emirates. I really felt ashamed and wondered whether the government has ever thought about how many business deals we may be losing because of the bad performance of Biman. In the end, we were two hours late. Instead of Biman portraying the immense potential of our country--it is defining Bangladesh as inefficient, insensitive and incapable, in addition to being poverty-ridden. I heard somewhere that the present government has formed a high-profile committee to look into building a good image of Bangladesh. The first thing this committee should do is strongly recommend immediate privatisation of Bangladesh Biman.
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