Ration Cards: Luxury Cars Import–Dr. M.T. Hussain On the 20th January, the Government of Bangladesh has taken two self-contradictory decisions. The decisions are, one, re-introduce ration cards for extremely poor people and two, import of costly luxury cars for three dozen ministers that may increase further. It is appreciable that the government rightly took their first of few decisions for reduction of pains of poverty in the country, and so the ration card. Bangladesh stands for decades not only as one of the poorest country in terms per capita income but also for the fact that the number of extremely poor people have been continuously increasing each day for the last few decades with the rising of total population from 75 million in 1972 to 150 million in 2008. Doubling the figure in about four decades has been the harsh reality despite the fact that there has been huge expenditure to control population growth. The other unfortunate reality is that gaps between the rich and the poor have been having rising trends from one year to the next. Thus hungry mouths having not enough to eat to keep healthy and lively, much less two square meals a day, in Bangladesh have risen by now to about the figure of nearly 75 million. Whether the government plans to provide proposed ration cads to all these 75 million or near about figure or not is not yet known. Against the welcome step for re-introduction of ration cards one can not but be amazed to know if the import of luxury cars for ministers' use would not be contradictory in essence and shape. It is a fact of life here that Dhaka city is already extremely congested and overcrowded with fuel run private and government vehicles. We see the jams everyday at increasing rate. And also one must see Tokais or stray boys and girls of primary school age instead of going to schools, begging for alms at each traffic jams and in traffic light stops. Some of them and their parents as well voted for the M.P.s and ministers for they had been assured of rice at Taka ten per Kg., if voted to power. Now that they have become ministers and requisitioned for riding in luxury cars escorted by police, the Tokais would not dare to come near them to beg alms, much less to ask for rice at Taka ten a Kg. Traffic jams in Dhaka must suggest that there is no scope for new cars to ply in the city streets. Instead, others would rightly think that public transport should be increased. Ministers, need not take public transport for security reasons, but could avail microbus from the Bailey Road/Mintoo Road areas that, each at least, could give transport to half a dozen ministers in one go. That would certainly reduce not only fuel bill but also ease parking problem, as well. Though position and power is a trust of the people reposed on the elected members for use with conscience, ethics, morality and utmost care, temptations to misuse that trust is nothing uncommon for those who take this life and only mundane life everything for 'Eat, Drink and be Merry'. That would have been nothing wrong in eating drinking and merry making provided all others around and the voters, in particular, would have the same scopes or accesses to provisions of lives and would not line up for ration cards, VGF cards, begging, prostitution, etc. due to unbearable and unending crushing poverty as are the common scenes in Bangladesh, and more so in the capital city of Dhaka, just as one foreigner in his first visit here termed it, 'ETO GARHI ETO VIKHARI'. And unless and until, all around are somewhat better off as dignified ones, let the conscience of the ministers, do little bit not to seek for luxurious cars imported by spending foreign currency reserve the past government managed to keep not for such enjoyment but should well be used for reduction of sufferings of the half of the population of the country, if need be, through further subsidy in essential common goods and provisions of life.. We did not forget in the matter of years that the same party government in mid 2001 left the coffer almost dry and to the lowest at about 1000 million dollars through spent spree that are yet to be rightly accounted for but may be guessed from the figure of corruption of Tk.17, 000 Crore or Taka 170,000 million alone in 2001, according to the TI estimation. How much of the amount was pocketed and by whom have not been known to the common people. But the then Prime Minister's bashing of the TI boss for 27 minutes uninterrupted in the parliament floor, if that had not been scrapped off, may well prove some culpability and onus of those then in power in running Bangladesh. Even if one would not care for the past flaws of the leaders and would take those matters in a spirit of 'forget and forgive', there is scope for the extremely poverty-stricken voters of the country to first ask of doing for them the minimum good and then, later on, may go for luxury of riding in imported foreign costly cars. |
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