A superlative Eid bonus!

By Sudhir Mitra Khilgaon, Dhaka
11 October 2005, 18:00 PM
A few days ago I went to the GPO at Ramna to mail an air-parcel containing a small puja gift to my brother who lives abroad. I discovered an unusually long queue, as many Muslims were also doing the same on account of the forthcoming Eid. What made me feel very angry was that the man at the counter, who was weighing, giving the stamp and also giving the final acceptance receipt, was never returning any change to anybody, and it was remarkable that most of the charges were about Tk 20 short of a round number, and most people having no changes, or not knowing the exact stamp dues, handed over hundred taka notes, which the man put in his drawer without even mentioning the words -- "Sorry, I don't have any change". One young man tried to protest and the man became so rude that the young man, fearing that his parcel might be left behind or "lost" did not push his point. We calculated that at the rate parcels were being accepted and the changes being pocketed, this man was making about at least Tk 5,000 per day!