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Heaps of apples, grapes and pomegranates — the sight is tantalising to the pedestrians who happen to walk by the fruit shops. Ramadan, the month of ‘austerity’, has begun and the prices of essentials are skyrocketing.
   It is the consumers of the low-income group and the middle-class who suffer most because of the soaring prices. As they have to manage their economy with a tight budget, they feel the pinch of a dwindling coffer. As for the condition of the day-labourers, the least said the better. They are born to suffer as they are caught in the cycle of poverty.
   Another point that I would like to highlight is that we tend to consider the issue of price-spiral from the perspective of the city-dwellers. That is, we ignore the fact that the people of the mofussil areas and the villages also suffer due to price-hike.
   The need of the hour is to deal with the issue in such a way that the solution benefits all sections of people across the country.
   ZabedWali
   Pahartali, Chittagong
   

God at last answered Yuvraj’s prayer. Yuvraj Singh of India on September 19 entered history of Twenty20 as the first player to hit six sixes in one over, a feat he achieved in the penultimate over finishing 58 off 16 balls against England, racing to the fastest half century in international cricket — off only 12 balls. Six balls delivered by England’s Stuart Broad had a return journey from Singh’s bat dancing first as a long on, second a flick to square leg, third over long-off, the fourth over point, fifth a miss-hit over mid-wicket and the sixth was again long on. Stuart Broad with an apologetic face has to spend the rest of his life remembering his place in the grey page of history as the first bowler to be hit for six sixes in T20.
   In Twenty20, every ball delivered, hit or missed tells a tale and every player and each viewer — on the pitch or on the retractable or fixed chair on the terrace or bleacher of stadiums and on the divans or easy chairs in living rooms or bedrooms — registers more vividly the flitting moments in their mental journals. Moments of euphoria and despair of this sprint cricket will stay locked in our memory shelves never to be erased. This new breed of Twenty20 with its inherent cricket DNA intact is poised to phase out ODI and overshadow Test cricket in a matter of time.
   The world would not have a chance to witness many stunning wonders like this onslaught of a sixer had the England and Wales Cricket Board not introduced Twenty20 at the county level in 2003 and the first full men’s T-20 not taken place in 2005 between New Zealand and Australia.
   In the present age when life is blessed with creature comforts all in miniature for ease and economy and information is stored and processed in the minuscule world hidden in the chemical compound of a silicon for speed and precision cricket cannot afford to retain its lustre in a giant frame of five days or a full day. Each innings of Twenty20 now capsulated in 80-minute frame has afforded the players to exhibit their prowess in all the facets of the game under the vigil of the world waked with wide eyes for the full tenure of the game.
   T20 has to shine with bowling accuracy at a McGrath level, vivacious scores against the line of ball, attempts of hitting wickets from farther distances, running at higher run-rates, replacement of fatter players with sleeker ones, specialization in fewer formats and players scorching in the burners of mental pressures — and umpires dependent more on replay of the video than on their trained eye sights.
   May Twenty-20 live long!
   Maswood Alam Khan
   General Manager, Bangladesh Krishi Bank

Kader Siddiq once again proved his uncompromising stand when it comes to evaluating the Jamaat and other collaborators. He also demonstrated that the pro-liberation force does not mean Awami League only. His strong demand to ban Jamaat and other anti-liberation forces from politics is a timely demand. Let this be the sign of hope, raising a common demand to ban Jamaat from the politics of Bangladesh. In fact, the 1972 constitution debarred politics based on religions. The restoration of the 1972 constitution will allow that to happen again.
   There is a common misunderstanding, which the Jamaatis and their well-wishers often exploit, that the Bangabandhu had pardoned the war criminals. This is an utter falsehood to confuse the people. Let us go back into the history for a moment. The Special Tribunal Order was promulgated on 24 January 1972 (PO NO-8 of 1972) to try those Pak Collaborators/Razakars/Al-badrs and other stooges of the Pakistani army. 37,000 collaborators were arrested under that order. 26,000 were released in a general amnesty by the Bangabandhu government against whom there were no grievous charges.
   At the time of Bangabandhu’s killing on 15th August, 1975, the remaining 11,000 classified collaborators, Razakars and Al-badrs were under trial and among them were included Nizami and Abbas Ali Khan. They did not get any clemency or mercy shown by the Bangabandhu government nor were they released from jails. On 4 November 1972, all religion- based politics were abolished according to sections 12 and 38 of the Bangladesh Constitution. Bangladesh Citizenship Act was introduced on 15 December 1972.
   On 18 April 1973, Golam Azam and his co-accomplices were striped off their citizenship through a gazette notification. Bangladesh government issued an order, International Crime Act of 1973 for the Pakistani war criminals. Bangladesh Criminal Act/Collaborator Act was rescinded by a martial law proclamation on 31 December 1975. Furthermore, on 18 January 1976, the war criminals were asked by the concerned ministry to apply for citizenship. Accordingly, Golam Azam and other collaborators and Al-badrs/Razakars, who lost their citizenship, were allowed to return to Bangladesh and get back their rights to participate in political activities. Golam Azam got his citizenship back under the patronage of Ziaur Rahman.
   The bottom line is International Crime Act of 1973 is still active and effective. Article 47, Section 3 of the Act allows trial of war criminals of Pakistan if the UN and other humanitarian Organisations agree and if they are sincere to try and bring those Pakistani war criminals to trial and punish. But Bangladesh government must start the process first. Restoration of the 1972 Constitution will allow total banning of religion-based political parties. However, banning Jamaat from doing politics should not be a problem if the Election Commission in its election reform package and the Political Party Act includes the clause of debarring participation of parties based on religion and war criminals in the same way proven corrupt politicians and loan defaulters would be banned from participation in election.
   Let the opportunity not be missed! Let common voice prevail.
   Kazi Haque
   Melbourne, Australia

Begging investment? We saw people begging food, money, cloth for their livelihood, but investment! Investment is not a charity someone can donate. It is a government’s responsibility to create business environment so that people come forward with money, invest and do business.
   Our country’s economy has improved tremendously since the beginning of the new millennium. The GDP growth has increased to 6.5 per cent, foreign currency reserve has reached $5 billions mark, export has accelerated to $12 billions and remittance has jumped to $ 6 billions. In last year alone, per capita income in our country increased by 11 per cent. Bangladesh is now the third largest economy in South East Asia with a capacity of $71 billions.
   Despite recent price spiral, the country’s economy is in strong footing. It has rather another problem with its economists and intellectuals. Dr Waheeduddin Mahamood recently said that he has no knowledge whether ‘there is any other country in the world that had talked so much about their market price and inflation’. Our economists and intellectuals are always criticising government policies and the World Bank and ADB instead of giving a positive and efficient solution. These economists don’t seem to have any responsibility towards the nation and the people.
   Shafique Hossain
   Toronto, Canada

An interesting write-up on the Bangladesh perspective of open-pit coal mining (September 15) has been published in a local English daily which compares the location parameters and economic indicators with German open-pit mines. This naturally makes it lopsided. It would have been better, and more down to earth and also realistic, if the writer would have compared the data with open-pit mining in the Indian state of Bihar.
   In this case, the economic parameters would have been possibly comparable. However the geological substructure of the two locations may differ. About subsoil water; I am not aware. May be we should ask TATA for the Indian data, as they do considerable open-pit mining in Bihar, and have also proposed this approach for extracting coal in Bangladesh.
   We are a net energy importer; and if we do not recover our coal resources efficiently and economically, our condition will get worse in respect of energy security. Resettlement of land owners and people living there is necessary for any mining venture. However, the open-pit method does away with gas leakages and the threat of fire and mine explosion which are ever present in deep-shaft coal mines.
   Our decision has to be pragmatic, unemotional and based on the best judgment to meet national priorities and needs. Unfortunately, the issue has become an emotional one, with as usual a lot of hue and cry, but possibly removed from ground realities and the facts of life.
   SA Mansoor
   Gulshan, Dhaka
   

I was astonished to read in the magazine ‘Bloomberg Markets’ a feature on the existence of inhuman slavery in today’s modern civilised world. It was an investigative story based on Latin American countries like Brazil and Peru where people work in timber, charcoal or gold mines without any wage and get just food for work. They work so hard and suffer from all sorts of diseases like TB and malaria in Amazonian forest. Many who work in unhygienic conditions like in gold mines in Peru die at an early age. There is no authority to look into this matter. Even the countries who boast for humanity and beneficiaries of these mines, especially the USA, is not bothered about the situation.
   I think in our country the situation is better in the sense that people at least get some wage. But the wage is not at all sufficient. With such meagre earning, how is it possible for someone to support himself and his family? Even those garment workers who work from dawn to dusk for the development of our country’s economy don’t earn enough. Many accidents like fire and building collapse take place and take lives of those innocent workers.
   Though dashprotha or slavery does not exist in our country, we often come by news items of oppressed innocent and very young domestic help by their so-called greeho-korti or korta?
   All the civilisation in the world that has developed and are still developing are based on the sweat and toil of the hard working people and not much has been done to remove their miseries.
   Laizu
   Thailand

Many readers write in your esteemed daily expressing their concern about the ailing national career, Biman Bangladesh Airlines. A common feeling is that Biman should be turned into a profit-making airlines. But how? One point that has never come up for discussion is that Biman has lost its goodwill in the aviation market. In business if your goodwill and prestige is destroyed you stand nowhere. Biman’s reputation in business deals with aircraft suppliers and lessors has eroded so badly that no one is willing to come forward and help. In the last decade or so Biman has on several occasions floated tenders for strategic partners and aircraft lease/charter but response has been very poor or not at all. These are ample proof that Biman has lost its creditability in the aviation industry. This is not the end. Story goes that on many occasions Biman even failed to pay on time handling charges at overseas airports and its flights were barred from taking off till dues were cleared.
   Recent changes in Biman and turning it into a public limited company are a good move. But how can a company with debtors all around survive? The only way-out, as I understand, is for the government to come forward with at least $1 billion as its part of the share in Biman which can be used to lease and buy new aircrafts. The old fleet of Biman should be sold out to pay off all debtors. The 49 per cent share, which has been earmarked for selling in the market, should be sold in foreign exchange to local and expatriate Bangladeshis but encashable in taka after three years. This is my view as a layman.
   Recently there has been news that expatriate Bangladeshis remit around $6 billion each year. Then why can’t our government allocate $1 billion to rejuvenate Biman? Or do we desire foreign airlines to come and take away millions of dollars as their sales proceeds from Bangladesh? We now have a dozen of foreign airlines operating daily flights to and from Dhaka out of which five are Middle East airlines, all using wide body aircrafts. Emirates has daily two flights from Dhaka to Dubai. Where does Biman stand?
   Coming back to the point of establishing goodwill and creditability, look at the private airlines operating in India. These private Indian airlines are barely 15 years’ old and on average they own 35 aircrafts each. Boeing and Airbus Company are wooing them to buy more aircrafts and bagged orders for dozens of new aircrafts. This is a business where national prestige is built on creditability of your dealings in the international market. As for Biman, I think, the management is living in a dreamland and they are good dreamers.
   Ziauddin Ahmed
   Dhaka

The other day, I went out for some Eid shopping and noticed a number of things contributing to our Eid traffic jam:
   1. All five traffic police I went past on my journey were on their mobile phones and did not seem to be bothered about regulating traffic flow.
   2. There is a big traffic problem around almost all the supermarkets and stores that were built with inadequate parking facilities or designated parking lots were sold out to maximise revenue.
   3. Restaurants have closed their parking areas to make a fast track outdoor buying system for Eid purchasers while keeping their restaurants open as well.
   4. Beggars have increased tenfold slowing down traffic (with the traffic police sitting nearby).
   5. Schools set up in residential areas have no parking facilities and road space is inadequate.
   S Shawkat
   Gulshan, Dhaka