Circular waterway
It is indeed great news which appeared as the front page headline item of New Age Metro section on February 27, 2005, regarding the circular waterway commissioned by the Hon’ble PM on 3rd March .
The advantages and the objectives as indicated are all very good and well understood However, with a most unacceptable record of frequent deadly casualties with so many loss of lives on our rivers since 1977 (as recently reported in the media from the Parliamentary Standing Committee finding on the latest ‘Maharaj tragedy) , we wonder if the authorities have duly and seriously considered the safety aspects( both in respect construction of the type of vessels and operation).
Surely the travelling public /the future commuters should be ensured as to the safety of life and property in the subject water-way & not be subject to yet another free-style transport system with similar hazards/ tragedies like the present launch-disasters . If all concerned are not very careful we may easily find ourselves saddled with much bigger problems/tragedies than what is happening in present IWT system & the proposed “Circular Waterway” may turn out to be yet another flood-gate of death-traps beyond control for all concerned now so keen to help and ease the Metro traffic congestion!
Z Rahman
Gulshan, Dhaka
Coaching centre
or a trap?
Coaching business has become the easiest way of making money in a very short time for some people. Like private university owners, the coaching centre moderators have the gift of the gab. They make the students convinced in such a way that the students who pass the HSC think that there is no other way to get admitted in the university except through coaching and the help of the guide and materials given by the moderators. They publish the photos and interviews of students in their magazines, actually of those who were not there students at all. In their annual program, they invite those students who get a chance and entice them to publish their photos and interviews. And reading the magazines the next line of candidates think that to get a chance at the university coaching is a must. This is too deceitful! The coaching centres take 5000/from each of the students.
And in this way they can earn 5000*10000=50,000,000/= from 10,000 students. This is my assumption. Actually at least 21000 students take preparation for the C Unit admission test each year! Now the figure is up to you to think of. In an admission season, the tutors earn such an amount that they don’t need to earn anything for the rest of the year! The government must pay heed to this case. These coaching centres don’t pay taxes at all, but they should!
Now I’m telling you about another type of coaching centre. They entice the commerce and arts students to take preparation for IBA exam, SAT, IELTS, etc. The commerce and arts students are usually weak in mathematical aptitude, so it becomes difficult for them to get prepared in a few months and to get chance into IBA even if some of them leave no stone unturned. Eventually, however, they don’t get a chance at IBA. Only the ill fated students know how it feels to lose an important educational year; they know how it feels to be embarrassed in front of their parents, relatives, and friends. And who for God’s sake wants to get admitted into a private university? So the students should be careful!
An adviser
Dhaka
Separate lanes for
non-motorized
In order to improve mobility, banning parking on streets and footpaths, controlling the movement of private cars, banning private cars and other motorized transport on small lanes, providing separate bus lanes, creating separate lanes for rickshaws on large streets, training rickshaw pullers in traffic systems, making funds available for increase of environmentally-friendly transport and non-motorized transport in the government budget, increasing the tax on imported private cars, reducing or eliminating the tax on bicycles and promoting cycling, and other recommendations were made by Roads for People.
Recently, Roads for People organized a press conference on Improving Dhaka’s Traffic Situation: Lessons from Mirpur Road. At the press conference, speakers made recommendations for improving the traffic flow in Dhaka. Program Manager Amit Ranjan Dey of WBB Trust delivered the keynote speech. PATH Canada’s Regional Director Debra Efroymson, Shanti Udyog Trust Coordinator Golam Mostafa, and Maruf Rahman of WBB Trust answered questions from the press.
Mr. Dey explained that based on a study on the non-motorized transport ban on Mirpur Road from Gabtoli to Russell Square by Human Development Research Centre (HDRC), the decision was made to extend the rickshaw ban on Mirpur Road from Russell Square to Azimpur. The HDRC study revealed a number of serious problems as a result of the ban on non-motorized transport, including an increase in travel cost, a probable increase in travel time, and many hardships for women, children, the elderly, and the infirm. Traffic jams have also not been eliminated, while those who continue to travel by rickshaw do so at great inconvenience, and increased expense and time.
Mr. Dey and Ms. Efroymson explained that the World Bank pressured the government to ban rickshaws on various streets, based on the supposed success of the Gabtoli-Russell Square experiment. Based on a more careful study of the HDRC report and the problems described therein, and on comments and protests from people around the world, the World Bank has changed its position on the rickshaw bans. The World Bank issued a letter to the Dhaka Transport Coordination Board saying that rickshaws should not be banned if several conditions are not met, including banning parking, creating separate non-motorized transport-only routes, and making separate bus lanes. The World Bank further stated that if the net effect on passengers is an increase in their difficulties, then further rickshaw bans should not proceed.
Syed Mahbubul Alam Tahin
Program Manager (Tobacco Control)
Work for a Better Bangladesh
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