Treasury forms on sale
ON SEPTEMBER 26, I went to the Laldighi corporate branch of the Sonali Bank to deposit money through treasury forms. When I requested a member of the bank's staff for a set of treasury forms, he said, 'You will get the treasury forms from any roadside vendors near the Court Building.' I asked him, 'Doesn't the bank provide the treasury forms free of cost?' He remained silent. Later, I had to collect a set of treasury form from a roadside vendor near the court building at the cost of Tk 5. Will the authorities concerned look into the matter urgently and take necessary steps to stop harassments like this in banks?
Habibur Rashid Ismail
Chittagong
Land reform
IT SEEMS that land reform is all talk just as 'Digital Bangladesh' is. Land administration is probably one of most corrupt entities in Bangladesh. In the absence of effective monitoring and regulation by the state, it seems to have become a playground for all sorts of fraudulent acts. Frauds and criminals are always busy forging lease deeds and other land documents. Powerful criminals prepare these as per their occasional demands. It has been alleged that even the government had to pay compensation for its own land to the holders of forged documents while laying out a road through Badda in the capital Dhaka.
Narayanganj is a district adjacent to Dhaka. Almost all the village markets in Boidyer Bazaar and other places in Narayanganj are under the control of local criminals. They routinely forge lease documents and illegally take possession of land. If this is the situation in a place so close to the capital, one can easily imagine what the situation is in other parts of the country.
MH Khan
Via e-mail
Let the freedom fighter
be addressed 'sir'
People use 'sir' as a polite way of addressing a man whose name they do not know or a man of superior rank. 'Sir' is the title used in front of the name of a person knighted by the queen of England.
The word 'sir' has a different connotation in Bangladesh, though. We generally use this term as a formality or simple out of fear. For example, even a police constable is sometimes addressed 'sir' by the common people. Another is to show respect to some elderly people, e.g. teachers.
Freedom fighters are our national heroes. They certainly deserve utmost respect from the people at large. Hence, there should be an official declaration that says all living freedom fighters should be addressed 'sir'.
Md Zahid Hossain
Chief Inspector
Department of Shipping, Dhaka
Regards
Ezajur Rahman (Junel)
Kuwait
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