As the month of abstinence approaches its end, it is time for celebration and be thankful for everything that we have achieved or endured with dignity, both individually and as a nation. With Eid-ul-Fitr only a day or two away, it is also time for a spiritual stockpiling.

The proposal to increase the price of natural gas by Titas Gas is totally unreasonable since this will pose an extra burden on the already burdened ordinary consumers, many of whom do not even get regular supply of gas. Residents of many areas of the capital have to face gas crisis due to shortage in supply.

It is atrocious that 40 percent of the garment factories should have erred in paying their workers, some for as many as three months. And most of these do not belong to any of the two major garment or knitwear manufacturers' associations like the BGMEA or BKMEA. A few of them have left their workers high and dry before Eid by literally fleeing after locking up their factory gate without paying the workers their salaries and bonus.

Despite unprecedented mismanagement prevailing in the banking sector, the finance minister has, surprisingly, chosen to stay mum on the issue in parliament. Both ruling party and opposition lawmakers came down hard on the minister for his inaction in the face of such disturbing financial irregularities. Ultimately, it is honest taxpayers who are bearing the brunt of such disasters in the banking sector. Already, the government plans to inject Tk 2,000 crore

Every year the World Day Against Child Labour reminds us how far behind we still are when it comes to eradicating child labour. The Labour Act 2006 clearly states that the minimum age requirement for anyone being recruited for employment is 14, with some exceptions, and labelled a number of sectors as hazardous for children, yet as many as two million children work in perilous conditions.

In June 2007 a landslide in Chittagong left 127 dead—yet in the eleven years since then, the still-vulnerable community living at the foothills and who are still vulnerable have still not been rehabilitated.

Victory could not have been sweeter than this. Bangladesh's women's cricket team has more than made up for the disappointment brought by their male counterparts in the recent T20 series. Winning the Women's T20 Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur by defeating India, one of the strongest teams in the tournament, our sportswomen have proven their worth and finally been recognised for their resilience and talents. This is the first time that any of our cricket teams has won a grade-one level international competition.

The Road Transport and Bridges Minister's insistence that there would be no traffic congestion this year during the Eid rush if everyone simply complied with traffic rules fails to comfort us.

The miseries described by the abused women workers returning to Bangladesh from the host countries in the Middle East, mainly from Saudi Arabia, beggar imagination.

A photograph published in this newspaper's front page yesterday, of a hole on the surface of a footbridge, explains why the public would rather risk violating traffic rules than use footbridges.

We fully endorse the finance minister's statement regarding transforming Biman into a commercial undertaking.

A year has passed since the Chakma community of Longadu upazila had their houses vandalised and torched by settlers. We understand that some 200 houses were gutted making some 1,500 families homeless.

Analysis of this year's budget by experts and the media does not give the sense of optimism to ordinary citizens as expressed in the Finance Minister's budget address. This is because it has not addressed some of the major challenges that impede real economic growth and development.

We are appalled at the rough treatment and arrest of Imran H Sarkar, the Gonojagoron Mancha spokesperson, by plain-clothes law enforcement officials at a peaceful protest rally in Shahbagh on June 6.

The finance minister has placed the 47th annual budget in the House with a record outlay of over Tk 4,64,573 crore,

According to a report published in this daily yesterday, most of the rivers in the country's Tangail district remain dry half the year.

Bangladesh is yet to respond to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over exercise of its jurisdiction to investigate forced deportation of Rohingyas.

POLYTHENE is not biodegradable and is largely to blame for the filling up of canals and drainage systems in the city. Although Bangladesh banned its use nearly a decade ago, its widespread use continues in the absence of both recycling and a viable alternative to polythene as packing material. We generate around 1,700 tonnes of plastic waste daily and the import of plastic raw materials costs us Tk 2,000 crore annually.

We applaud the government for undertaking the “Secondary Education Development Programme”—the country's largest-ever education-related project—under the budget of next fiscal year. A mammoth sum of Tk 137,666 crore is to be allocated for the project and its core objective is to enhance quality of secondary education and boost skills development of students to arm them with the skill sets needed for the job market.

It has been eight years since 124 lives perished in a horrific fire in Nimtoli, Old Dhaka. The fire originated from a stove in a building, which had in its ground floor a store full of combustible chemicals. When the fire came into contact with the chemicals it spread all over eight residential buildings and 20 shops, burning people alive.