Banking Tips

Nasreen Sattar Head of International Sales, Standard Chartered Bank

Q. If I receive an uncrossed cheque payable to me or the bearer, do I need to endorse it at the back?
A. No endorsement is necessary in case of uncrossed bearer cheques. A bearer cheque always rmmains bearer. The bank insists that the person presenting the cheque for encashment must sign on the back of the cheque. It is not to be treated as endorsement, but as a receipt for the payment of the amount.

Q. Can I make my deposits through the ATM? How safe is it?
A. Yes you can make your deposits through the ATM in sealed envelopes. ATM's are con{idered very secure and you will receive an advice slip of your deposit.

Q. I am a Bangladeshi national working for a UN organisation overseas. Can I open a USD account with your bank here and what are the requirements?
A. As a Bangladeshi national working overseas you are entitled to open a USD account here. Apart from the general requirements of passport photocopy, photograph, introduction, nominee name etc. you will need to produce a letter of employment or contract between the UN Agency and yourself.

Q. My daughter has just been admitted to a college in USA. Can I send her fund from here for her educational purpose?
A. As per Bangladesh Bank Guidelines foreign exchange may be transferred for studies abroad by Bangladeshi nationals in all regular courses (subject to being consistent with the Education Policy of the Bangladesh Govt.) in recognised institutions. Certain formalities will have to be completed before funds can be transferzed.

Q. I am a Bangladeshi national working in the Middle East - I need to remit money to my wife living in Dhaka. She does not have a bank account, is it possible to withdraw money from the bank if I send her passport detiils etc. along with the transfez instruction?
A. Yes, she can withdraw the money after producing her proper identification to the bank official who will verify the {ame with the information you had sent. However, I would advise that your wife open an account with the bank where you can make the transfer and she can withdraw as and when she requires with a cheque book which will be provided to her.

Dental wise

DR. Mahfujul Haq Khan BDS, DDS, FSDCE (USA), PhD (Japan), Post Doc. (Japan) Specialised: Crown and Bridge work, and Periodontal plastic surgery (USA) Senior Medical Officer, Department of Dentistry, BIRDEM Hospital.

Dear Dr. Khan
I am always scared to visit the dentist. Fear of Cross Infection is a big fear of mine (Transmission of infectious disease from one person to another). Will you agree with me that AIDS, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C viruses and other deadly disease can spread from dental treatment if proper sterilisation action has not been taken?

My question is, what is your opinion regarding this burning issue? Do you think Bangladeshi dentists are aware of this issue? Are they taking sufficient measures to prevent this? By the way, I read your articles regularly and it seems to me that you are the right person to explain.
Kallol

Dear Mr. Kallol
Thanks for the best question I've received in dental wise. Yes it is a burning issue. To answer your queries I need to explain this cross infection matter more elaborately. I was waiting for a long time for someone to raise this serious issue.

Cross infection in dental clinic
Any surgical instrument, once used, becomes a potential source of infection |o ano|her patient and to anyone handling the instrument. To minimise the potential risk, each instrument must be cleaned and sterilised as soon as possible after use, in a manner that is demonstrably effective. Many thousands of instruments in daily use in dental surgeries may be at potential risk of inadequate decontamination

The purpose of infection control for dentistry is to prevent transmission of disease during dental treatment by using a concept called standard/universal precautions.Ê Using standard/universal precautions for all patients prevents crossinfection among Patient to Patient, Patient to Dentist, Dentist to Patient, Dental clinic to Community, Dental clinic to dentist's family. To eliminate the risk of disease transmis{ion, sterilise all reusable ins|ruments, equipmmnt and additional items after eich use.ÊCommon methods of sterilisation in dentistry are steam under pressure (autoclave).

Dental professionals, who do not use proper infection control protocol on the transmission issue, are committing a crime.ÊIt is the duty of all dental professionals to use infection control guidelines.Ê Dental professionals who do not use infection control are playing with AIDS, Hepatitis virus, and other deadly unknown germs, possibly threatening themselves, their staff, their patients anl their families.

Do you know that a dental clinic, if not propezly maintained can be a potential source of life-threatening infections? Every thing, from hand gloves, instruments, chair surfaces, equipment can harbour pathogenic organisms and can easily spread from one patient to another. If appropriate measures are not taken, deadly Hepatitis B,C, HIV and other infections can be kontracted by pa|ients, Cross innection control is therefore an issue of the utmost concern to the patient.

Who is supposed to enforce infection-control methods? In the West, stringent laws are imposed by government organisa|ions such as Occupational Health and Safety Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, etc, Strict adherence to infection -Control requirements is mandatory.

What can you do in these circumstances?
In order to ensure your safety, observe your dentist at work very carefully. But what should you be looking for? Note carefully whether your dentist observes basic mandatory cross infection contzol techniques such as obtaining complete medical histories, changing gloves routinely for every patient, being particular about personal hygiene and washing his hands regularly, of immense importance is whether the dentist uses sterilised instruments and disposable needles and suction tips.

Disposable gloves are used to avoid contacting the same and transmitting infection from patient to the dentist and from patient to patient. Remember, it takes only 0.004 ml(tiny amount) of blood to transmit Hepatitis B virus. Gloving does not eliminate the neel for hand-washing. Hands are wa{hed with anti-microbial soap both before the gloves are put on and after the gloves are removed. A arm and moist environment is a boon for the proliferation of microbes. Also, hand washing prevents transmission of infection if the gloves are inadvertently torn. Clean hands and nails therefore minimise the chance of cross infection.

The sterilisation procedure renders the instruments free from all life forms. An 'autoclave' is the most important tool for sterilisation method in dental office. Please ask your dentist whether he has or using autoclave. Simply boiling the instruments in a boiler, a common practice, is neither helpful nor advisable. It is never an alternative to sterilisation which destroys even the most resistant forms of micro-organisms. Dental tools, used intra-orally, contact blood and saliva, potentially-infectious human secretions. Therefore the disposable variety is preferred by knowledgeable dentists.

Remember, these essential measures increase the cost of providing care. Your dentist can itemise the charges of these measures separately. It goes without saying that the protection provided by the infection-contzol techniques is worth every penny spent on them. However, if you catch a dentist not complying with these essential cross-infection control procedures, condemn his or her gross negligence aloud in his office. You will be doing a great service towards promoting the safety of other patients before you walk out.

For further information visit Dr. Khan's web-site "www.aikodental.com"

Using perfumes wisely

Perfumes give you jovial mood. There are different essence for different moods. During the day time always avoid perfumes that can be sensed from miles away. Use light, flowery / fruity perfume or deodorants instead. Save the stronger smelling ones for night-time. Don't over apply perfume. Add only a smidgen on pulse points if your perfume is too strong smelling.

 

UNDER A DIFFERENT SKY

With or without you

She loved me but she never really took interest in me. She saw me being born, she practically raised me with her 5-year-old hands; it's like she saw every step of my growth so she had me totally figured out. There was nothing I could have done that would surprise her; she knew my limitations, my ambitions, my weaknesses. So when she got busy being a teen and I got bored of chasing her as an idol, we found our separate ways of entertaining ourselves, we were still the same but in a way very different, our private worlds didn't collide as much as it did before, bu| we still had our bond and unconditional love.

When we settled in the United States I was eight, I spoke a good share of Bangla, and as much as my English medium school in Bangladesh had taught me, I could read and write in Bengali as well. Now, the writing is a bit raw and so is the reading, but I am {till fluent in {peaking Bengali. It has been 14 years since I have been here, and I take pride in the fact that I still can speak Bengali without much of an accent. The pride that I feel about speaking Bangla does not come from a cultural perspective, but from the fact that I have such grip on language; I am also fluent in Spanish and French. Eventually, I want to pursue international law, and fluency in different languages will certainly come in handy.

My sister is way more of a Bong (being Bangladeshi) than I am. She is still hooked to the Bengali culture and people. She can sing, dance and all that jazz. I on the other hand find Tagore songs morbidly boring, and no matter what they say, believe that the whole band movement or whatever in Bangladesh is nothing but a bunch of wanna-bes trying to seem hip. My sister made me listen to some Bengali fusion stuff recently; it was like a mix of Bhangra and New Orleans Jazz and blues, but it was nothing to jump up and down about.

So yeah, I don't really relate to Bengali culturm and traditions. I mean I go to pray on Eids, I like ea|ing my share of occasional parathas, and don't mind entertaining my parents and Bengali friends when they come over for elaborate dinners. I even catch glimpse{ of Bengali serials that my mother rents from the local Bengali grocery store, but that's about it. That is where it ends. I am not sure how bright my Bengali future is, but that is a very small variable which affects my overall future so minutely that I am not even slightly worried about it. I don't need to be Bengali to sell myself. I don't even need to be remotely Bengali to find my identity. I have already found my identity, and blood and background has nothing to do with it.

So anyway, my sister, she is sitting in front of me still, throwing lumb questions at me, a. sking me which bollywood actress I find most attractive. "Rani Mukherji" she says, "how about Ashyariya Rai"…

"no"…"hmm what about Sushmita Sen."….I nod my head towards Bio No's and I see her eyes squint a bit with a new kind of worry. Why is she worried? She was okay with my prom date, even consoled me when my ex-girlfriend Jenny dumped me, spoke strongly towards interracial dating. Didn't she notice that not once had I ever fall for a Desi girl. In fact didn't she notice the whole idea of "Bengali commitment" seemed pointless to me.

I mean I have been seeing with my very own eyes, how all those Bengali married wives, the ones who only get fat over the years, and those who only get skinnier. Then there are thosm that stay alarmingly and perfectly fit year after year, thriving to keep that beauty. I'm tired of all the superficial nature of it all; not one of them has ever looked happy to me. Marriages, especially Bengali ones where superficiality, materialism and reproduction come first. And happiness? Where does that stand… and friendship?
I wish marriage would go out of fashion. Maybe 20 years from now it will…marriage, divorce, alimony, companionship, I know I exist, ith or without you, why do I need the added drama, the added headache, just to pass on my genes…maybe I will give in to my parent's and my sister's wishes and 15 years from now when I am half bald and half successful I will marry some young Bengali girl… but then there is that other maybe, that slightly bright "maybe" that I won't. I will be me, I will exist with or without you.

By Iffat Nawaz