DFP circulation figures

The fact that the figures are known to be and are so obviously incorrect reflects very poorly on the information ministry, under whose auspices the DFP operates.

If government statistics are not to be relied upon, then where is the public to go for accurate information? Public faith in all the statistics that are published by the government is shaken and the credibility of the government takes a strong hit. This is not something that this or any other administration can want.

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It is common knowledge that the DFP has long been a den of corruption. We demand that the government immediately initiate a probe to determine how the DFP manages to arrive at such fanciful figures and why the ministry of information has continued to tolerate such malpractice on the part of the DFP for so long.

The genuine circulation figures are not hard to obtain. Information such as print orders, newsprint quota purchases, and taxes paid are readily available to the government, and taken together can easily provide an accurate picture of the true circulation numbers of all the dailies.

The fact that the truth is so easy to find out indicates the DFP's bogus figures are no mere accident or oversight. The unarguable conclusion that we come to is that the figures have been allowed to be exaggerated as part of a ploy to permit the DFP to continue to perpetuate its misdeeds.

The allocation of government advertisement expenditure -- that totalled Tk 25.7 crore in the 2003-2004 fiscal year -- depends on the DFP assessed circulation of the dailies in which they run, and so it is readily apparent why some interested party would want to cook the numbers.

We reject the DFP circulation figures and urge the ministry of information to do the same without delay.