The New Nation - Internet Edition

Rajshahi Division of Bangladesh comprises 16 Districts with an area of 34,495 square kilometers. According to 2001 population census 3,02,02,000 people lived in these 16 districts. It is assumed that the present population is about 4 crore. There were two active airports until January 2007 at Rajshahi and Saidpur. Bangladesh Biman used to operate flights from Dhaka to these airports which facilitated movements of high officials, prospective investors and the patients. Suddenly Biman stopped their operation with the plea that these routes are non profitable from their business viewpoint.

We are anxious to know whether the concerned authorities studied the matter properly. In 1970 the fare of Dhaka - Ishwardi flight was Tk 40 when the price of gold was Tk 144 and there were two flights each day. During 1988 - 2000 there was one flight every morning in Dhaka - Rajshahi- Dhaka route and passengers used to fight for a ticket. Such situation continued until Biman changed its flight schedules for Rajshahi and Saidpur routes at lunch hours followed by delayed flights and sudden cancellation of flights.

During this period GMG tried its best to continue flights to Rajshahi facing huge loss as GMG was given permission to operate Rajshahi flights more or less at the same time with Biman. GMG is a private airline and Biman is a national airline. Biman's losses are paid from the taxpayers accounts including the people of Rajshahi Division. The concerned people know the background and stories of the losses projected by Biman.

People of Rajshahi Division also need to travel by air to save their journey time. If there are flights in the morning and in the evening people will definitely travel by air. When Biman closed its operation to the airports of Rajshahi Division in 2007 the flights were at such odd times that they did not match the need of the passengers.

Now we are seeing that all the private airlines are operating morning flights to Chittagong and Sylhet airports. Therefore, on behalf of the people of Rajshahi Division we request Bangladesh Biman kindly to operate flights to those airports at lunch time, and immediately start at least one flight every morning in the Dhaka Rajshahi - Saidpur - Dhaka route. We understand that this will also facilitate the movements of high officials from Dhaka to the is part of the country.

We also request Civil Aviation Authority to look into the matter.

Anwarul Hasan Sufi, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Psychology

University of Rajshahi.

Mother tongue is a gift of Almighty Allah. From the holy Quran, we come to know that the most merciful Allah has bestowed a mother tongue upon each and every caste, creed and colour. Mother tongue is so important that the people of a country express their ideas, thoughts, feelings, emotions etc. clearly through mother tongue. But it is an irony of fate that the then rulers tried to impose Urdu as state language upon us instead of Bangla. But the valiant sons of our country laid-down their lives for our mother tongue, Bangla. Since then, the day had been observed as our Shahid Day commemorating the sacrifice of the language martyrs. Since 2000, this day has been recognised by the UNO as The International Mother Language Day.

21st February is now observed all over the world as a red-letter day. In our country it is observed as the National Mourning Day. The National Flag is hoisted half mast to mark the Day. On this day people of all classes waking up early in the morning bring out a procession called "Probhat Ferry." Everybody in the procession, walks bare-footed and sings the heart-rending song. "Amar bhaer rakte rangano Ekushey February Ami ki Bhulite pari". They put on black badge on their breast or shoulder and go in procession to the Shahid Minar. They also arrange meetings and seminars to mark the Day. Our national dailies bring out special supplements while Bangladesh Betar and Bangladesh Television air special programmes highlighting the significance of the Day.

This day is of great significance. We have achieved Bangla as our State Language. The Language Movement gave us the spirit of Liberation and this came into being in 1971. Today we are free and we have our own culture and heritage. This Day has given us honour and fame. The world today recognises that Bangla is an important language.

We should try for the development of this language. We hope that in near future Bangla, like English, will be used as a medium of speech in different international forums and it can be stated that our Language Movement on 21st February is a unique event in the history of human observance. We are really glorified by Declaration of the UNESCO that turned a national celebration into an international event. We are proud of our language martyrs. We should preserve the importance of this historic Day very truly.

Md. Abul Kalam Azad

Mizmizi, Narayangonj