The political dialogue is about to falter. It is a matter of time. What is next from the briefcase of the political ‘pundit’ close to the government? It will not be possible for the government to divert the attention of the people from the main issues which are economic crisis and political failures of the government itself. In my judgment, the people are more united now against this failed government and want immediate relief from bad governance.
   There is no use of asking for minor changes here and there of the present set-up of the government. A total change through a general election is the need of the hour. There is no alternative. If the government and their mentors think differently, that would only bring a total chaos worse than the so-called 1/11. Will it be a better exit plan for the government? The situation they would leave behind might bring more harmful effect on the present government machinery than they seem to visualise now.
   I think there is a necessity to form a ‘National Commission’ to find out the real causes behind the so-called 1/11 and to fix individual responsibility instead of putting blanket blame on the politicians, businessmen and some bureaucrats. It might be revealed that the present political and economic impasse is part of a political roadmap drawn taking into account the corrupt period of the immediate past government and their chance of winning the election in 2007. There is hardly any difference in ideology or political strategy between the immediate past government and the present military-backed caretaker government.
   The reform programmes the military-backed government claim to have implemented or initiated are nothing but transfer and postings in case of the Election Commission and the Public Service Commission. The separation of judiciary from the executive does not reflect any qualitative change in our judiciary system. It is also simply an order of separation but no real separation or independence is visible yet. Any fundamental reform in terms of qualitative changes needs more than change of personnel. When I hear people in the talk-show talk about the reforms done by this government, I find difficulty to verify that opinion.
   The only reform this government has made is to create a ‘fear culture’ through emergency rules and anti-corruption drive. These are also causing loss of public support and confidence in the government. So where lies the creditability of this government?
   A reader
   On e-mail

Cricket Bangladesh has dropped to its lowest level. True to past character, Bangladesh has gifted a whitewash in the five one-day series to Pakistan.
   No one could fault the team on its generosity. The captain is consistent; he speaks silly things before and after each match; he comes out the silly loser every time.
   After the recent whitewash by New Zealand it adds shame to collapse against weakened Pakistan. If the team is incapable of being ashamed, the country and its cricket followers are not shameless.
   If foreign tours are so attractive why not the cricket board sends them on ‘rest and recreation’ abroad and get it over with?
   Let the ‘all-tall-talk-but-no-play’ stop. Sooner the better.
   Let Ashraful quit captaincy; let him prove he can perform by taking him off the team. He need not keep all waiting to strike better luck. Our team is relatively young; none is indispensable.
   By the way, how about a new coach?
   Husain
   Dhaka

As the summer season has stepped into our lives we are made to feel the intensity of the heat wave. In other words, daily temperature is shooting up — each new dawn heralds in another hot day. Even we can feel the wrath of the sun early in the morning. At midday the heat becomes so unbearable that you need something, say an umbrella, over your head. To make the matter worse, the supply of electricity is erratic — the ceiling fans are not moving.
   Much has already been written about the issue of global warming. The ongoing heat wave may be an instance of the gradual increase of world’s temperature — a fallout of the climate change. Long spell of droughts, cyclones, the thawing of the polar ice-caps — all these are the effects of global warming. This year we are going through a spell of heat wave that does not show any sign of abatement. Thus what we are going through is a local manifestation of the slow increase of earth’s temperature.
   In this regard, the developed countries have a responsibility as they are mainly responsible for the emission of greenhouse gases. The situation calls for a dialogue between the developed and the developing countries.
   However, for the time being we are waiting for the rain that could bring some relief to our lives.
   Zabed Wali
   Paharatli, Chittagong

The other day during my visit at ZIA International Airport to meet and greet an incoming relative of mine, I was surprised to notice that the lone post office at the terminal building arrival hall was no longer there. The post office used to remain open from 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays with facility for the outsiders also to obtain the postal services. Vast number of airport employees also used to obtain the services of this post office while being on duty. I saw a notice displayed outside the door of the PO stating that the post office has been shifted to Uttara. The room was lying vacant. I felt sorry and could not understand the logic of closing down the lone post office at the airport. Then the notice also made no sense that the PO has been shifted to Uttara where a full-pledged post office had already in operation. Isn’t it unthinkable that the country’s main airport is without any postal services? How could the CAAB allow its closure?
   Whereas, Heathrow Airport in UK has a main post office with extended hours of operations and remains open all days of the week, including Sundays. The post office should be restored and relocated at the ZIA International Airport with extended hours of operation, it should remain open on all the days of the week, including Fridays and Saturdays, with break for the prayers on Fridays.
   AB Mohammed Zakaria
   Mirpur, Dhaka

Tourism may play an affirmative role in women empowerment if the issues of poverty reduction, the enhancement of women’s dignity and the position of the women in the workplace are addressed. These are among the issues in UNWTO’s ‘Action Plan to Empower Women through Tourism’ which has been announced recently. The organisation is committed to play an important role in economic empowerment of women in the tourism industry.
   The action plan has to be considered as a part of UNWTO’s ‘triple commitment’ within the framework of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and in support of the UN Millennium Development Goals. The objectives of the ‘triple commitment are: tourism should benefit the poor; protection of our environment; and empowerment of women.
   The women make 60-70 per cent of the people employed in the tourism sector. The UNWTO’s Action Plan will help improve the quality and conditions of women’s employment in tourism and will also create increased economic opportunities for self-employed women and micro-entrepreneurs. Bangladesh may be much benefited through this programme.
   MS Islam
   Tourism worker, on e-mail