Bangladesh Administration vis a vis Pakistani administration

Onion prices shoot up to record high- The Daily Star reports.

Now could we put up a few questions to the present administration? Has the administration of independent Bangladesh ever done any better than the administration of the Pakistan era? During Pakistani period, we saw any sudden and unexpected hike of any essential commodity was immediately called in the market operation instrument such as the Marketing Officer. They got down to supervise and control the price without delay and the traders and shopkeepers would not dare to increase price arbitrarily. They were sure that it would cost them high. But in independent Bangladesh traders and shopkeepers hike the price of the commodities at their sweet will with the least fear of being adequately punished. Most unfortunately, the government itself hikes the price of utility services at its will to compensate the loss through corruption and pilferage. The price of electricity and various governmental fees are bright examples.

The same thing, albeit a bit different issue, the roads and highways lay unattended days and months together until the potholes are enlarged into deep ditches. While a little attention could have spared the public unjustified and high taxes, the road authorities do not bother to give attention to them. We saw in the Pakistan era that a truck loaded with a small road roller, bitumen, stone chips move on the roads to fill the potholes before they turned into deeper ditches. In the developed countries such as our neighbour Singapore, this is a common sight that a truck loaded with necessary materials fill the potholes saving the road from being infested with ditches. There were road overseers whose work was to check if the roads are not filled with potholes and ditches. Even in the city areas under City Corporations, no such activity is ever visible. Are there no post of road supervisors/overseers? If there are, what work do they do?

Now question is:

A. Is the administration of independent Bangladesh has been doing any better than the administration of the Pakistani era? The questions arise because in almost every sector inactivity and inefficiency prevails that tantamount to deep-seated corruption. Projects are never completed in allocated time, quality of the work almost always sub-standard, willful delays are allowed by the concerned authorities to swallow more money, public accountability painfully disregarded.

B. Is it a fact that the authorities wait for the roads and highways to get dilapidated demanding large amount of money from which they an swallow a bulk of it? or is there some clandestine nexus with the contractors that the engineers and supervisors allow the roads to get dilapidated so that they too can gulp down a good sum of money?