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     Volume 7 Issue 11 | March 14, 2008 |


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Letters

Preserving Purity
The theme of the cover story 'Preserving Purity' (February 22, 2008) was to save pure Bangla which is now getting mixed up with the informal one. Actually, language, the way of communication, is based upon change, evolution and development. There is an utmost need of the formal Bangla along with today's use of the prevalent one.
In addition to this, I strongly protest against the mindset of the media that English medium school students do not give too much priority to Bangla. It is a false conception. Most of the schools which follow the curriculum of the University of Cambridge or the London University put equal emphasis on English and Bangla. There are a few which do not and they must be put under scrutiny.
Shetu
Paramount School and College
Rajshahi

***

The cover story 'Preserving Purity' was a timely issue which I really enjoyed but in the end it left me in the abyss of reinforced confusion. Everyone interviewed by SWM seemed correct from their individual point of view. Nevertheless, various seemingly ominous trends were pointed out clearly.
If Farooki's rebuttal of truthful portrayal of details is taken for granted, we can't rely for the correct form of Bangla on dramas or cinema. Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed aptly distinguishes the colloquial and formal forms of Bangla with his witty metaphor of <>lungi<> at home and formal attire outside.
Restraining language from taking its natural course is impossible and what is deemed mangled language nowadays may be standard in future. Dissent may exist regarding whether the mangled form should be encouraged. But it's beyond question that practising a forced foreign accent of Bangla and ridiculously meaningless mixing of Bangla and English are absolutely absurd.
If we fail to learn pure formal form of Bangla, that will, no doubt, be an utter disgrace on our part.
Ahmad Ferdous Bin Alam
Department of CSE, DU


Manpower Abroad
We often see reports on newspapers on how some people have been sent back home after they had been promised work abroad and ended up passing their life in ineffable miseries abroad. It is clear that these have been created by some crooked people who tempt the innocent jobless people from our country. While the second highest foreign exchange earning comes from remittance; no political government ever took any effective measures to reduce the misery of foreign exchange earners. Sometimes these people go abroad selling all their lives earnings and come back penniless. My appeal to the caretaker government which has done a lot to move the country forward to take some long lasting effective measures so that these innocent people do not have to suffer any longer.
Md. Humayun Kabir
Mirpur, Dhaka-1216


Soil Fertility Evaluation and Fertiliser Management
In Bangladesh, there is a huge shortage of fertiliser during our major cultivation season each year. Every time this is the main burning issue for the farmer and government but what is the sustainable solution?
The fertility status of our soil is depleting at a very alarming rate. There are many reasons behind this and solving these problems is not very easy. The only realistic solution in our hand is the balanced fertiliser application. But balanced application of fertiliser with consideration of cultivated crop and soil fertility status is not maintained in our country. One of the most important reasons behind this is that fertiliser labelling is not correctly maintained in Bangladesh. The chemical composition and their percentage in fertiliser cited on the package are not true. Moreover soil fertility evaluation is not done regularly in Bangladesh. So farmers have lost faith in specialist suggestions and apply a high dose as they think it will give a high yield. This leads to an increase in demand of fertiliser. This creates not only loss of valuable currency but also affects the environment, soil fertility and valuable natural resources. Moreover adulteration in fertiliser creates problem in crop production which result in complete loss of crop yield.
As the fertility is being destroyed by over application of fertiliser it is necessary to check this tendency by the government and responsible agencies not only for restoring fertility but also for reduction of fertiliser demand.
Abu Kausar Mohammed Sarwar
Faculty of Agriculture
BAU


Standing Up for Her Rights
I would like to thank the author for her article 'Standing up and standing out'. She introduced a brave woman in Najma Akhter to her readers. Najma is the best example of what a person can do if she is committed and possesses a strong willpower to do something. I appreciate and salute a woman like her as she did not look back in spite of being exploited and harassed by the cruel society around her. The pattern of Bangladeshi society is such that men always try to dominate women under all circumstances. They abuse religion and interfere and violate others' rights. Some norms and values of our traditional society are acting against the establishment of their rights and respectable position in family, society as well as the State. There is no alternative to empowering women to change the attitude of people towards them. Bangladesh will develop more rapidly if its women are made productive and empowered. The garment workers are directly contributing to our economy but the owners of the industry hardly think about their problems. Some voices are raised from different corners but these are not enough to change the existing situation. Najma shows great commitment in establishing her rights and the rights of those around her.
Jewel Rana
MS Student, Dept. of Biotechnology
BAU, Mymensingh


On 'A People in Limbo'
Whatever their past legacy, the people living in the various refugee camps should get the minimum support to lead their lives in a humane, hygienic and reasonable way which will improve their miserable living conditions. Besides, since most of them want to live as citizens of this country it is only fair that we give them all the opportunities to do so.
The identification of their nationality for the establishment of their rights is the most crucial but debatable issue in this regard as their loyalty to our free state is questioned and the Pakistani government is not taking any steps towards repatriation.
The governments of both Bangladesh and Pakistan must reach a resolution with a view to addressing this issue with sincerity to free them from such inhuman circumstances and help them maintain their facilities and privileges in case of getting education, the right to vote, the right to employment, proper rehabilitation and over and above all a national identity which can reduce their plight, ensure their standard of living and enhance their capability.
Amit Abdullah
Convener of DPELS, Dania Pathagar, Dhaka
Department Of Finance, DU


Submission Guideline:
Letters to the Editor, Dhaka Diary and Write to Mita, with the writer's name and address, should be within 200 words. All articles should be within 1,200 words. A cover letter is not necessary, but every write-up should include the writer's name, phone number and email address (if any). While SWM welcomes unsolicited articles and photographs, it cannot accept the responsibility of their loss or damage. SWM does not return unsolicited articles and photos. Response time for unsolicited write-ups range from three weeks to two months. All articles submitted are subject to editing for reasons of space and clarity.
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