Curfew relaxation
Let RMG and emergency services perform unhindered
After the two days of protest and anarchy the lifting of curfew for three hours on Thursday and for 14 hours on Friday came as a welcome relief to the citizens who were caught unawares in the changed circumstances. Thursday being a working day, people endured all sorts of troubles to reach office, only to find that a holiday has been announced. And our sympathy goes with the seriously ill people who required immediate medical help but remained stranded at various points as vehicles remained off the roads. Obviously it was for the fear of a frenzied mob that public and private vehicles avoided going out on the day.
It is now widely believed that the imposition of curfew has succeeded in reinstating peace and order throughout the country. But, what the government needs to consider at this point with greater urgency is the appeal of the business community, especially the readymade garment exporters, to keep them outside the purview of curfew. We believe it is a justified request as raw materials and finished products have to be transported on an emergency basis round the clock. It is common sense that any disruption in the chain would bring disaster to the sector that earns most of our foreign currency. We surely do not want to see the most thriving industry of the country suffer any such predicament.
The functioning of the essential utility services and the medical services has to go on unhindered, therefore, special measures have to be taken to see that the officials and staff can attend to their duties in the best of mental and physical state. At the same time we would like to stress that the traders of essential goods like rice, fish, meat and vegetables also need to move about freely early in the morning to keep the city markets well stocked. Law enforcing authorities will have to show more compassion to them at such difficult times.
Lastly, we can only hope that normalcy would be restored very soon with the total lifting of curfew. Only then the government will be able to concentrate on fulfilling its more solemn responsibilities that are expected of them.
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