A day labourer found TK one lakh and ninety thousand on a road in Barishal city and tried hard to return the money to the owner. But as he failed to trace the owner, he handed over the money to Maturza Abedin, councillor of ward No. 2 of Barishal city. However, the day labourer did not want to disclose his name, the councillor said.
“Pleases don’t disclose my name. I’m fine. I don’t want to be rewarded. These (money) are nothing. Everyone must die once, and after that he or she will be judged by Allah,” the day labourer said.
On August 6, Shankar Kumar, a local businessman was carrying the cash in a bag which he had hanged on the handle of his motorcycle. He was going to his office at Hatkhola in the city. As soon as Shankar Kumar reached in front of a shop he noticed the bag containing the money went missing. The bag containing money had fallen on the road. The businessman did everything including miking all day to get back his lost money. He had also announced cash reward to get back his lost bag. As his all efforts went in vain he had given up hope of getting the money back. But the councillor Maturza Abedin phoned him, asking about the amount of lost money. The councillor asked him to come to his office to get the money.
Shankar Kumar went to the councillor office and got back his lost money TK one lakh and ninety thousand. The businessman eagerly wanted to see the day labourer and know his name. But he has not seen the day labourer or known his name yet.
This is not only a single story of a day labourer. Besides, Shakib Hossain alias Shourav, a twenty-seven year old youth fund Tk five lakh left abandoned on the Thakurgaon-Panchagar highway just before the dusk on Thursday. Later, the youth launched a search at different places adjacent to area to trace the owner of the money but did not find him (the owner).
On Saturday, finding no way, Shakib renting an easy-bike conducted miking throughout day across the Thakurgaon town to return the money to its owner. Son of Anwar Hossain, Shakib Hossain locally known as Shourav, is a resident in Shantinagar area of the town. He is running a crockery business named Madina Machineries in Statidium area in the Thakurgaon town.
Apart from them, earlier, rickshawpullers, autrorickshaw drivers and poor pedestrians set such examples of honesty by returning huge amount of money to their owners after finding them on their way.
We all should take lesson
from the example set by
Shankar Kumar
In the face of some dishonest, corrupt and greedy people, cheats, liar and frauds, when our honest, sincere and dedicated people are being demoralised and sidelined gradually, such examples remind again values, ethics, morality and honesty have not disappeared from our society yet. So, the day labourer and Shourav are definitely rare individuals whose personal integrity and moral values are far more precious than money. They could take away all the money which they found on their ways but remaining above greed, they did not do so. They believe honesty is the best policy that makes the people’s life beautiful and dignified.
All know human beings desire knows no bounds and they will never and can never be satisfied. But these two personalities also taught the society that all will have to be honest and true in life even in bad situations.
People wonder when they see some government officials including doctors and engineers, police high ups and bankers are indulging in corruption and irregularities. It has also been noticed that some officials termed the bribe-taking as a style, saying the bribe money is distributed among their senior officers. So, the general people do not get the service without bribe.
If any service seeker refuses to pay bribe for his or her file processing in any government office, he or she is harassed, humiliated, misbehaved and even beaten up by the organised brokers, cheat and corrupt officials. Therefore, people are compelled to pay the bribe to get the service.
Besides, making any crisis as an issue, an unholy nexus of businessmen, importers and hoarders are deliberately increasing the price of the all daily essentials through syndication when the country’s common people have been facing economic hardship. They are not showing minimum humane attitude towards consumers in order to loot public money.
When the hardship of the low-income groups has deteriorated further time amid persisting financial uncertainty, dishonest traders and hoarders are now busy with milking public money shamelessly in many ways. Apart from them, a good number of organised fraud gangs are always active in cheating the people in various ways across the country every day.
So, we all should take lesson from the examples set by the day labourer and Shourav. Though, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken zero-tolerance policy against corruption, many officials and employees are still indulging in corruption, irregularities and other illegal activities at different government offices and organisations. If the common people start hating the corrupts and boycotting them socially and continue protesting against them and their irregularities, no one will be dare to get involved in such misdeeds in the future.
Besides, all will have to raise an unequivocal and collective voice against corruption in the spirit of the War of Liberation to build a corruption free prosperous society. And the people who would abuse the state power and responsibilities should be strictly controlled and brought to justice under the existing law.
The seed of corruption was planted by governments that came to power illegally after August 1975 and since then corruption continued to engulf all most all sectors of the country. And it is still one of the major concerns in our country amid government’s raids to implement its zero-tolerance policy against graft.
There was a time when it was a normal phenomenon to suppress any sort of corruption. However, it has been noticed that the extent of corruption has started reducing as a result of growing anti-corruption attitude among people against corruption free society to build a developed Bangladesh by 2041. And corrupts will be ousted in phases from the society once.
Common people will also have to play bold role in preventing corruption through stopping misuse of power and public money by a fewer section of government servants and others. Simultaneously, authorities have to evaluate the honest, sincere and dedicated people socially as their recognition for good job would help reduce the corruption, dishonesty and greed in the society.
All know the corruption and greed degrade the social values, norms and morality, undermines economic development and increase poverty, exploitation and injustice, prevent good governance, accountability and transparency and create social and political instability and insecurity. So, it should not be wise to keep an uneven path of corruption for the country’s future generation. All must make the young generation understand that only honesty makes a person feel free as he or she does not have to keep any secrets.
S. M. Mizanur Rahman is working as Assistant Editor at Bangladesh Post
