I wonder if the government policy makers are aware where this tailor-made PSSR (it seems to have been framed for some vested quarter) will take the nation to. They perhaps do not know that where Sardah-trained police have failed, the makeshift-trained, illiterate or half-read private guards have stood up boldly to provide security in return for a salary and facility which is almost one quarter of the police's.

I as a humble citizen and a proprietor of a PSC would like to present the following information for our law-makers to decide where this PSSR will lead. Although I am taking the time to write this paper, I wonder if our respected policy makers will have the time to kindly read it, give a sympathetic consideration, and accordingly take the necessary action.

Trade license: According to the new PSSR, each PSC has to obtain a license from the DC office, paying Tk 200,000 as license fee, deposit Tk 500,000 as security (refundable, though only Almighty Allah knows how much time and other things it would take to be refunded), and renew the said license every two years by paying Tk 50,000.

Now, my question is: why should one pay such a huge amount? What does the government think of a PSC operator? Black money wallah? Human trafficker? Gun runner? Mafia don or mastan? Political don harbouring armed cadres? Manpower entrepreneur sending workers abroad and minting money?

The PSCs have obtained trade license by paying the government prescribed yearly fees like any other businessman or company. They also have obtained TIN number and VAT registration certificate and accordingly many of them are religiously paying the IT and VAT. Does the government have the slightest idea how much profit a local PSC can earn by deploying a single guard?

Training: I appreciate the idea of providing 28 days training to a guard as mandatory. But before that, let's find out the jobs a PSC guard needs to do. His primary responsibility is to provide protection to man and material against theft, pilferage, trespasser, extortionist, mugger, unwanted visitor, fire, and sabotage. The half-read village men and women require training in basic drill, discipline, manners and etiquettes, observation, surveillance, fire-fighting, first aid, visitor/guest reception and monitoring, telephone handling, material movement management, unarmed combat, bomb detection, vehicle parking, traffic control, etc.

But let me make an honest confession. There are instances where half-way through the training, many of the PSCs have to deploy guards on clients' urgent requirement or insistence. But it can be compensated by arranging "on the job training." However, I strongly recommend that strict disciplinary action should be taken against those PSCs who just pick up a person and deploy him as a guard.

Education: The PSSR says a PSC guard has to have passed class nine and as evidence he has to produce an SSC registration certificate.

Does the honourable home minister know that the major portion of the guards come from villages, almost 20 percent from workers of closed down jute mills of Adamjee and Khulna, 10 percent from defence and para-military force (my statistics are an estimate)?

70 percent of PSC guards have hardly studied up to class eight. Yet they are doing excellent jobs and our clients have personally requested us not to remove them from their house or factory.

If a villager could afford to register his name in the Education Board, then instead of joining a PSC he would have appeared in the SSC exam and tried to make his living in the army, BDR, or police. There are probably more than 25,000 guards serving in various PSCs throughout the country. If this law is implemented then almost 20,000 will go jobless. And think of their family members!

Pay: Announcement of Tk 2,700 as minimum pay is excellent. But for how many hours? If it is for 8 hours per day with a weekly day off (as desired by many foreign garment buyers), then are the clients willing to pay for the same? I wonder. Anyway, I feel Eid bonus and insurance should have also been spelt out.

One information our policy makers are not aware of: this profession and market is very competitive and difficult like any other product. And it is equally difficult to get a good stock for guarding service. To retain a good or efficient guard, the PSC has to ensure provision for adequate training, motivation, good pay, accommodation, Eid bonus and allowances, education, height, medical, conveyance, etc.

Uniform: Debarring PSCs from using defence and para-military organizations' uniforms deserves appreciation. But allow us please to design our own uniforms. And I hope we don't have to pay bakshish to any government agency to get our uniform approved.

Issuance of fire arms: Home minister has doubts about the credibility of the PSC guards for which he has reservations regarding issuance of arms.

Well, it does carry weight. But imagine a DG of a para-military force who is tied down every day to investigate and issue 60 to 75 permissions to provide armed Ansars to almost 15 PSCs for carrying cash or protecting VIP. Forget about the operational and administrative procedures involved in detailing of armed Ansar personnel, preparing requisition papers, drawing and depositing arms and ammunition to and from the kote.

If the PSC owners, with their half-read but dedicated guards, can successfully protect so many key installations, commercial and residential buildings, cash transportation, VIPs, then why can't they be allowed to have 10 to 15 fire-arms in their arsenal?

Should a misuse or accident occur, then they can easily be taken to task.

If our political cadres and mastans can keep illegal or unlicensed arms then why can't the PSC have its own licensed arms for justified cause? Certainly the law-makers do not want the armed cadres and mastans to carry on extortion, loot, robbery, and murder, and have the weaponless PSC guards watch helplessly?

I am confidant that PSCs are quite capable of safeguarding their weapons.

Verification: Surprisingly nothing has been mentioned about police verification of the newly recruited guards of PSC which, needless to mention, is of utmost importance.

Many PSCs maintain bio-data including reference of their guards. But I have my doubts as to how many of the guards have been verified by the police. One of the reasons could be that many a PSC do not bother about it or many of them have not received a positive response from police end. I myself cannot guarantee that I do not have a Sharbohara or JMB or convict hiding in my organisation. I think this is one area where police can train us how to go about it.

Laws are always made for the betterment of the society and to relieve the people from constraints and make a system simple or accessible. But PSSR seem to have been created to ruin the small scale entrepreneurs who have been relentlessly working hard risking their money, image, honour, and dignity to build a PSC.

I have a feeling that PSSR has been adopted to accommodate some vested quarter. Already enough damage has been done to various sectors including RMG. Please don't damage us further.