Bumper to bumper cars crawling in the congested roads in Dhaka is nothing new; we all are accustomed to these sights. But now it has become unbearable; it is time to say that Dhaka is a standstill city. Everybody is a sufferer whether he is driving a private car, riding on buses or taking a rickshaw ride, and undoubtedly we can say that there is nobody living in this planet who can come up with a solution by next five years (such a mess we have created!). Flyover, underpass, ring road –– whatever you suggest will need at least five years to implement. Then what will we do for the next five years. We have to think out of the box; something very different as no body has so far come up with. I have something to share not as an expert but simply as a victim of severe traffic jam.
   Keep the school timing as 7a.m. to 1p.m. or some time other than 9 a.m. which can be the rush hour for office-goers. The office time can also be shifted –– whichever is easier to implement.  Let us think, what it would be if all the shopping malls and banks open by 11 a.m. and all the garments by seven? These are all proposals only, and any alternative can be chosen. If all the financial institutes such as banks, stock exchanges, broker houses and leasing firms started their office by 11 am, I don’t think they will be in much trouble. We have to adapt something new and innovative.
   Another thing I would like to mention is that the city corporation should be stricter about maintaining traffic rules in Dhaka city area. We know there is a rule that trucks, lorry and any kind of large vehicles cannot enter in the city before 10 pm but we see that nobody follows it. Every other day at the Satmoshjid Road or Mohammadpur, I find big lorries in the service of construction purposes creating all sorts of traffic jam.
   And then about the rickshaws. More and more lanes and roads should be restricted for rickshaws. Short-distance walking should be promoted by the city corporation. Walking is good for health. 
   Last but not the least, I would like to ask the authorities concerned to mull over setting tax on using private cars on some heavy-traffic congested roads. Cars are now in reach of middle class people; every day hundreds of new cars are being added in Dhaka traffic. The total area needed for the cars that already Dhaka has is far more than its total area of roads.
   We really don’t have much time to spare to come up with ways and means to fight this terrible traffic jam.
   Shamim Murad
   Shankar, Dhanmondi

When compromise is done for political convenience, it defeats the principles of political morality. Responding to your very even-handed editorial on the subject I would add that this political mess in Bangladesh is a creation of the present administration backed by the military. Lofty ideals were in place at the beginning but the momentum was lost due to a lack of coherent policies. The vicious cycle of corruption from 1971 has spoiled the nation in such a way that there is no quick solution out of this problem. As your editorial has rightly mentioned that a good political atmosphere is definitely needed for a free and fair election but corruption allegedly committed by the interned politicians must be tried and they must face the due process of law. The military-backed government is gradually releasing many of the heavily tainted politicians and this process seems to be done under duress. If any outside power is pressuring the administration to release these corrupt politicians this is not a good sign. There is no denying the fact that this situation is a direct result of the government’s failure to appreciate the unique socio-political situation in Bangladesh. They took too much time to chart out a viable political mechanism. They hoped and tried too many things at a time but miserably failed to execute many of them. Corruption and misrule have become so entrenched in the national life that even the most optimistic person also has taken this as an acceptable fact.
   Bangladesh politicians are so shameless that their records stink. But unfortunately in the event of a new election many of them will smilingly show up in the parliament to grab power and position again. This is a vicious cycle that will continue to plague the nation for a long time to come.
   Akbar Hussain
   Canada

I still vividly remember when Bill Clinton ran his first campaign in 1992, a very long time ago as far as political memories are concerned. His tag at the time was ‘It’s the ECONOMY, stupid’. Given the preceding legacy of 12 years of Republican rule and the resulting budget deficit along with a crumbling economy, he certainly got the attention of the public, not only giving him the Oval office but the Congress as well. The next eight years were spent, in spite of all the scandals, in coming up with a budget surplus, a sounder foreign policy, and turning the economy around.
   Since 1/11, when indoor politics was banned, I, being a total fool, automatically assumed that the shortcomings of our politicians would be addressed somewhat and we shall be spared the daily drudgery of the news where the headlines are always about our dear and glorious/glamorous leaders either attending one more foundation-laying ceremony or bickering about politics. But alas, the news of the past two years have been dominated with nothing else but politics.
   It will be suffice to say that, whatever growth we have in terms of economic achievement it is in spite of our leadership and not because of it. We have already learned not to rely on government enterprises such as our post offices, telecommunications, airlines, buses and its many corporations and turn to the private sector for better service. However, there are issues which these people need to acknowledge and take action and are beyond the purview of the private sector, i.e. the long-term repercussions of climate change, runaway population growth, lack of local economic incentives in the non-Dhaka urban areas, and the choking stranglehold of the free market on the poor and the lower middle class trying to survive on a day to day basis. Yet, the emphasis is on holding parliamentary elections first, before the upazila elections, as if the new elected parliament will, out of the goodness of their hearts and their new-found sense of civic duty, would voluntarily give up their jurisdictions to the upazila levels. Well, it is more or less guaranteed that it shall not happen, right?
   In the meantime, while the EC is busy holding dialogues with the political parties, another body should be formed to deal with the economic policies of the political parties and their long-term outlook on solving our economic problems. To tell the truth, I shall be surprised if their thought process goes beyond how to take control of the parliament.
   Architect MK Aaref
   Gulshan, Dhaka

Everyday our newspapers (Bangla and English) condemn the military-backed interim government for suspending certain fundamental rights. This is all very noble and professional. But I wonder why our newspapers never demand, in clear and unconditional terms (without using ifs and buts), for the Awami League and the BNP to get rid of their student and youth wings and to abandon hartal politics.
   We know most of our newspapers are either pro-AL or pro-BNP, with few papers supporting other smaller parties. So, are we to understand that these newspapers are putting the interests of their political parties before the interests of our country? Newspapers with political orientation is nothing new and is acceptable up to a certain point, but just because you support a political party it doesn’t mean you should turn a blind eye when it commits crimes, destroys all the major educational institutions in the country with student politics and cripples the country’s economy with hartal and agitation programmes.
   Azad Miah
   Oldham, UK