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| Volume 10 |Issue 12 | March 25, 2011 | |
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Letters How VIP's Avoid Traffic Unlike other countries, VIP movements in our country within the city creates lots of problems for the general people. As it is, we are stuck in traffic jams throughout the day, but when a political leader decides to take a drive out, we are virtually stranded for hours at a time with no way out. In other countries, people barely notice that a VIP is passing through the street. They pass the roads quietly with body guards and police protection, causing no problem for the regular people and vehicles. A person is designated as a VIP only because of his/her political and official position. The VIPs should not be the cause of trouble and discomfort for the general people. VIP movement creates manifold problems: a) It restricts the flow of vehicles on the busy roads of the cities; b) It stops the movement of the pedestrians even on the overpasses; c) It completely defeats the purpose of the traffic signal systems; d) It stops ambulances from carrying critical patients to hospitals and e) last but not the least, it insults senior, respected citizens of the country by restricting their free movement despite their social status. Our suggestion to the authorities is that VIPs should pass through the roads normally without security guards, without blocking roads and disrupting the movement of the people. If not, helicopters should be used to fly them to their destinations, however ridiculous that may seem. This should sort out traffic indiscipline. Mohammed Jashim Uddin Peace at the Border On March 12, 2011 the Director General of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Maj Gen Rafiqul Islam and Border Security Force (BSF) held a press conference. At the press conference, BSF declared that India will provide its forces with non-lethal weapons in order to stop the killing of unarmed Bangladeshis along its border. At some point in the meeting the BGB team handed over to India a list of criminals and anti-Bangladeshi persons, including those of the Bangabhumi movement and persons smuggling phensedyl syrup.The Indian side also supplied Bangladesh with their list of miscreants concerned in human trafficking and those helping passing of fake Indian currency through Bangladesh from other countries. Under these circumstances we hope it is a big step toward friendship between the two neighbouring countries. On the other hand, we think this is not enough initiative to build a good relationship between these countries. They must take other steps related to business, education, export-import etc. Finally we are very hopeful and happy about the declaration that India will provide its BSF with non-lethal weapons in order to stop killing unarmed Bangla-deshis along its border. We believe in the near future the BSF will not kill any person in the border area. Rowshan Ali Yet Another Disappointment Last Saturday, a few friends and I went to watch Bangladesh's final World Cup group game against South Africa. Having somewhat gotten over the disappointment of West Indies' loss to England on Thursday (whereby a win for the former would have ensured Bangladesh's safe passage into the quarter finals), we witnessed yet another disgraceful performance by the Bangladeshi team. Our team's performance was so shockingly appalling, that the sarcastic applause (first heard during Bangladesh's humiliating defeat to the West Indies) began once again as Bangladesh kept on losing wickets. What we, along with the other 23,000 spectators witnessed was public humiliation. It is unthinkable that our team got bundled out twice for scores of less than 100. It is even more unthinkable that this happened on home soil, where the crowd is so passionate that whenever the opposition team takes a Bangladeshi wicket or scores a boundary, there is deathly silence in the stadium. It is unfair, that we as citizens have to witness such an embarrassment not once but twice. In my opinion, our cricketers are an over-paid, over-confident and under-achieving lot and the BCB would be better off slashing their salaries and including performance based bonuses in their contracts. A Chowdhury World Cup Mayhem As a Bangladeshi residing in the US, it is with shock and horror that I read the blogs and reports about the conduct of fans during and after the cricket matches. We managed to make the record for the lowest recorded runs in the World Cup with the West Indies team and instead of being ashamed of this, we attacked the West Indies players and their bus. How is this remotely acceptable? Is this how we should treat guests in our country? I am so ashamed of being connected to such barbaric people that it has taken away any excitement I felt about our team's victory. I feel sorry for the players from other countries who have had to deal with this behaviour from our countrymen. Since we cannot expect the public to become sensitive and considerate overnight, it is the responsibility of our government to ensure the safety and dignity of our guests. Not only am I embarrassed about the public insanity but I am outraged that such behaviour has been allowed to take place and gone unchecked. Where is the security for our guests, why aren't maximum measures being taken to ensure their safety and well-being? We are hosting an international event that puts our country in the spotlight, it should be the prime responsibility of our leaders to ensure that we display an appropriate front to the rest of the world rather than putting out our dirty laundry for all to see. Whether any lessons have been learnt so far from the incident is yet to be seen. In the meantime, I pray for those visiting our country and hope they don't have to witness any further outrageous behaviour from Bangladeshis. Salwa Khan Tigers' historic victory
Stunning, thrilling, glorious, dramatic, splendid, incredible or unforgettable - none of these words are good enough to express the true nature of the Tiger's victory in the ICC Cricket World Cup match against England on Friday March 11. In fact, the victory was so magnificent that it will be recorded in the country's cricket history in golden letters as a historic achievement. A news agency has rightly pointed out that in another unbearably tense finale, Bangladesh's ninth-wicket pair of Shafiul and Mahmudullah transformed a futile situation with glorious blaze of strokeplay, as they turned an asking rate of 57 in 62 balls into a glorious victory with an over to spare. The honour of the winning hit went to Mahmudullah, who belted a Tim Bresnan full-toss through the covers for four, to queue pandemonium among the most passionate cricket supporters in the world. This victory was glorious and historic. The whole of Bangladesh exploded into joy over it. On Friday Bangladesh enjoyed one of their biggest days in one-day cricket, beating England and keeping the quarter final hope alive. Although Imrul Kayes was adjudged the man of the match, Mohammadullah and Shafiul Islam were the real heroes of the spectacular victory. The Tigers' combined efforts have turned almost an impossible win into reality. In fact, Bangladesh cricket has taken a rebirth at Chittagong Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Friday and advanced a long way. This historic victory has opened a new era in Bangladesh cricket. Mohammed Jashim Uddin Submission Guideline: Letters to the Editor, Star Diary and Write to Mita, with the writer's name and address, should be within 200 words. All articles should be within 1,200 words. A cover letter is not necessary, but every write-up should include the writer's name, phone number and email address (if any). While The Star welcomes unsolicited articles and photographs, it cannot accept the responsibility of their loss or damage. The Star does not return unsolicited articles and photos. Response time for unsolicited write-ups ranges from three weeks to two months. All articles submitted are subject to editing for reasons of space and clarity.
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