The Finance Minister and the Energy and Mineral Resources Minister continue to assure the residents of Dhaka that no further gas connection will be given to households in view of scarcity of Titas gas but those who are still enjoying the facility in their households may enjoy the same if no further problem arises. As residents of Dhaka we watched on TV and read in newspapers that hundreds of thousands of people living in Savar, Ashulia, Tongi, Gazipur etc. have managed gas connections illegally to their households. Though these areas are not far from the capital, public representatives, concerned authorities, law enforcing agencies are silent about it. The government from time to time warns of zero tolerance to corruption, but nothing really happens to the offenders. Mass protests were held against recent price hike by Titas gas authority.
Titas gas bill books were available free of charge at banks and I used to collect it from Motijheel branch of Janata Bank. But the service was discontinued and I had to collect it from Titas Gas office at Motijheel later. This is troublesome for customers who have to go to Motijheel amid serious traffic jam.Â
There are contradictions in every sphere of our life. According to media reports, the actual cost of implanting rings for heart patients is around Tk 18,000 but patients are charged at least ten times more. This cannot be accepted as an index of welfare and good governance.
At my old age, as a retired official of a sector corporation with a non-pensionable job, I have to depend on meagre house rent and savings certificate income. Painfully, a tax payer's money is constantly devalued due to inflation. I only wish that good governance prevailed in all walks of our life.
Mahmud Ali
138 New Eskaton Road
Dhaka-1000
Â
Through the peephole
FE Team | Published: May 16, 2017 18:36:36 | Updated: October 21, 2017 06:25:15
Through the peephole
Share if you like