Views of a diplomat's wife
Kudos are deserved by the diplomat's wife for her caustic but true comments (DS 09-09-09) on the letter from Mr. Shabbir Bashar.
Good Heavens, what could have prompted Mr Bashar to make such a statement that most of the stretched out, 4-5 lakh gas-guzzling monstrosities that have flooded and blocked Dhaka's narrow pot-holed roads, streets and lanes belong to the diplomatic community and that the Bangladeshi tax-payers pay for their fuel!! Is it not common knowledge that the easy influx of grey and black money/cars and the bloated egos of the recipients, who are mostly those elected to 'serve the people', the 'contractors', the wheelers, dealers and the FAT CATS, are the main causes of the gridlock that has brought Dhaka down to its knees?
It is a refreshing sight to see every day on my way to work (by rickshaw),foreign females mostly Caucasians, in rickshaws, walking or cycling to work in the many NGOs and other organizations in Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara areas. I have never seen a Bengali girl do that. They rely on the GGMs of their fathers to get them to work or university. Hence the world record breaking quadruple parking often seen in the Banani Private University areas. Once in a blue moon a traffic sergeant does appear (fearfully?) and slaps a Tk 200 fine (after making sure that the said cars do not belong to a “SIR) but what good does that do for the Tk 50 lakh GGMs. The spoiled brats spend many times more at the nearby Pizza Shop.
Another amusing sight is of 16 foot cars trying to negotiate an entry into 12 foot lanes and tangling up the traffic. Besides most of these narrow lanes in Gulshan, Banani and other 'posh' areas are used for free parking by the GGMs. Can the Commissioners see all this on their new toy, the C3S surveillance cameras?
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