MAILBOX

The Necessity of Planning
Due to very limited media exposure, the profession of planning is not that familiar in Bangladesh. Being a student of planning when I introduce myself to people, they often ask me what it is about. Urban and Regional Planning (URP) is a discipline where students are taught about the basic planning disciplines like Urban Planning, Rural Planning, Regional Planning, Transportation Planning, Housing and Real Estate Planning, Land Use Planning along with a wide range of other related subjects such as Economics, Statistics, Mathematics, Environment, Computer Engineering, Geography, Architecture, Construction, Law, Government and Administration and so on. A planner has to hold the ability to work with the people of different professions. In that sense, it is a challenging profession. Moreover, planning is now a pressing issue not only in Bangladesh but also all over the world because of the increasing population and decreasing living space. It is high time we invest on this profession by creating scope of higher education on planning and by creating job opportunities for planners.

Shahed Ali
Jahangirnagar University
Dhaka

The Beautiful World of Dipankar

The article titled "The Beautiful World of Dipankar" on, September 2, 2016, inspired me a lot. Dipankar proved that you need not to be a powerful one to do something for the betterment of the society; rather you must have a dream.  To fulfil his dream, he established "Batighar" which is not only a bookstore, rather a movement towards enlightenment and awareness, which has become the home of thousands of book lovers. In a time when the habit of reading books is becoming rare among youngsters, this initiative taken by Dipankar is much appreciated. We wish him every success with his resourceful establishment, "Batighar". If we want a prosperous and developed Bangladesh, we need lots of Dipankar to enlighten us. 

Arif Billah
Department of Law, University of Dhaka

Remembering Salman Shah
September 6, 2016 was the 20th death anniversary of Salman Shah, a renowned Bangladeshi actor and model. Unfortunately, the mystery behind his untimely death is yet to be solved. It is hard to believe that he committed suicide- because he was very hopeful about his career and his life. His father died with grief and his mother is still seeking justice. We demand exemplary punishment for those who were responsible for his death. His unnatural death was a great loss for our film industry. We, his fans, still miss him tremendously. On his death anniversary, we pray that may his soul rest in eternal peace and I hope that our government will take initiative to solve this case.

Marshia Afrin 
Mirpur, Dhaka