It is a rather sad commentary that this needs to be said again so soon.
Clogging up all the roads of a busy metropolis, halting all activity, is no way to celebrate democracy.
But that is exactly what the ruling party did on Thursday, causing citywide traffic gridlocks in the capital for the second day in a row.
One would have thought that the huge outcry regarding the BCL’s anniversary celebrations the previous day should have served as a lesson for the government.
However, instead of listening to public opinion, the AL decided to go ahead and hold such counter-productive celebrations anyway.
The irony is that these actions show a gross insensitivity to public sentiment that makes a mockery of what democracy stands for.
The right way to truly honour democracy would have been to take cognisance of the unpopularity of these celebrations, and forego such an unnecessary and burdensome spectacle.
Dhaka is one of the worst cities in the world when it comes to its urban traffic problem.
The actions of the ruling party suggest that fixing this problem is not much of a priority for the government, as it continues to disregard the needs of the public and the economy with rallies such as the ones we saw on Wednesday and Thursday.
Studies suggest that untold amounts are lost every year because of Dhaka’s traffic congestion problem.
This does not even take into account the inestimable cost of human suffering that takes place as a result.
We urge the government to change the way it celebrates.
Democracy begins with listening to the people.
