Five people were tragically died when a huge concrete girder of an under-construction flyover was lifted by a crane and fell on a moving vehicle at the intersection of Jasimuddin Road, the busiest road in Uttara of the capital Dhaka. About three and a half hours after the accident, the rescue workers removed the girder and brought out the bodies. According to media reports, all the victims are members of the same family. They were on their way to Ashulia from Kaola in Dhaka after a wedding ceremony when the girder collapsed and the tragic accident took place.

According to media sources, 23 people have been killed so far in Dhaka, Gazipur and Chittagong when the girders of the under construction project fell and more than fifty injured. In the past decade, more than two hundred people lost their lives due to accidents or fires caused by dangerous chemical business in various places of old Dhaka including Nimtoli, Churidhatta, Kamal Bagh in the capital and  hundreds of people were burned and seriously injured. Before the Uttara accident, a girder collapse occurred in the first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project on March 14, 2021. Two girders collapsed at the airport and Abdullahpur twice on the same day and 6 people were injured. There were pedestrians and project security personnel. Then on July 15, a security guard was died after being crushed under a BRT girder in Gazipur city. Finally, on the day of National Mourning Day on August 15, a girder weighing about 50 tons from a crane fell on the road on a passenger microbus in Uttara, 5 people were died and 2 injured on the spot. Earlier, on June 29, 2012, the first 130 feet concrete girder fell down during the Bandarhat flyover construction work in Chittagong. Then on November 24 of the same year, another huge girder of the flyover collapsed, killing 17 people and many others were injured in that incident. Although these incidents have been investigated, no exemplary punishment has been taken against those responsible.

Mainly due to the extreme negligence of the government officials, one after another such big and unexpected accidents are happening. The procession of casualties is long, but despite all this, the concerned authorities are in a kind of 'silent spectator role'. No one accepts any responsibility. When such an accident occurs, the concerned people start running, one investigation committee was formed and submitted detailed report on sacking. The cause of the accident is identified, but due to unknown reasons, the investigation report of these people does not see the light of day. In the media, the news was reported with hot headlines for a few days, but after a few days, everything got lost in the air, no one cares about anyone. The solution comes with various recommendations, a case is also filed against those responsible but the case does not move forward. Even if it is judged, the name of the people will be shown. There is no proper exemplary punishment of those responsible i.e. there is no proper monitoring and enforcement. Otherwise, those responsible remain elusive. Recurring accidents, the number of death marches and casualties is increasing. The victims say these are not mere accidents, but negligent homicides. They need exemplary punishment.

According to experts, it is normal to rush during the construction project girders according to the engineering calculations. One runout in every 10 girder lifts is considered normal. However, such safety, caution and preparation should be kept during the construction work. Incidents of falling girders have occurred before. At that time there was an investigation but they were not found guilty and punished, that is why such a situation is being created. In the investigation of this incident, the cause and responsibility should be identified and their punishment should be confirmed. Then such incident will not happen again in future.

In fact, in Bangladesh, the people responsible for any negligent accident have never been punished. Many say that the root cause of accidents in this case is the culture of impunity. The owner of the building is in jail as the Rana Plaza collapse in Savar has badly damaged the image of Bangladesh in the outside world. About 1,138 garment workers died but no one has been punished in the incident. Ten incidents can be stopped if one incident is prosecuted as an example. Even if there is no trial, an inquiry committee is made in each case. What is contained in the report of that committee is no longer known to the general public, but such incidents are not mere accidents, but negligent deaths or murders.

There should be a standard of compensation in cases of such negligent homicide. It has not been determined yet. As a result, the owner got away with the nominal compensation stipulated in the Labor Act. After the Rana Plaza collapse, the High Court played a role in determining the compensation, but the final verdict was not given later. If an employee dies in an industrial accident, the compensation is only two and a half lakh taka. However, following ILO Convention 121, there is a rule to provide compensation equal to lifetime income to the families of the victims. Notably, the powers of inspectors of the Directorate of Inspection of Factories and Establishments (DIFE) were increased after the Rana Plaza collapse in April 2013. However, it is alleged that the organization's inspection activities are arranged for the sake of sustaining the garment business. International organizations and governments have spent huge amounts of money to increase inspection capacity, creating a mindset that it will only be used in the ready-made garment industry. As a result, the industry outside of apparel, where there is considerable risk of accidents, has not been taken into account.

There are about 2,000 illegal chemical companies in Old Dhaka. After the Nimtali fire incident on June 3, 2010, the government issued directives to evacuate chemical plants from Old Dhaka. After more than a decade passed, no chemical factory was shifted. Then on February 20, 2019, the Nimtali fire incident took place. 78 people lost their lives. Then the fight started again, an inquiry committee was formed, and various recommendations were made in the report. Even though almost four years have passed, the condition of old Dhaka remains the same. In this situation, on August 15, six people were killed in a fire at a plastic factory in Kamal Bagh, Old Dhaka. Now there is a new investigation committee and the fight is going on.

In fact, it has not been possible to create enough importance and awareness activities to remove the dangerous chemical warehouse from Old Dhaka, that is why even after tragedies like Nimtoli and Churihatta, the residents of that area are living with the chemical warehouse. The main reason for this is the reluctance, incompetence and reluctance of the responsible organizations of the government. Because of that and because of greed, the residents of Old Dhaka are getting used to living with dangerous chemicals. The committee was formed after the Nimtali incident, the inquiry committee made 21 point recommendations and the Prime Minister also directed to remove the chemical warehouse from Old Dhaka. However, the responsible agencies have not been active in implementing those directives effectively. Because of this, these incidents keep repeating and this situation continues due to lack of proper investigation and punishment of those responsible. All irregularities have now become rules, there is no cure and a culture of impunity is rampant.

Many people remember that the incident of fire at BM Container Depot in Sitakunda, Chittagong in June of this year also made headlines in the country and abroad. About 50 people were killed and more than 200 seriously injured in the fire of the container depot. After the accident, it is known that the depot and hundreds of factories and depots in Sitakunda were visited six months ago by two investigation teams on the instructions of the Prime Minister's office. However, after the accident, the investigating agency, Department of Explosion, Department of Environment, Fire Service, etc., tried to avoid responsibility. Such a large international standard container depot had no fire fighting system and it was very surprising matter. Similar incidents happened after the fire at Rana Plaza in Savar, Tazrin Fashion, Churihatta in Dhaka, Foods Factory (Cezanne Juice Factory) of Sajeev Group subsidiary Hashem Food and Beverage at Rupganj in Narayanganj. These concerned organizations cannot avoid the responsibility of this accident in any way. These are not just any fires, these are negligent homicides. We don't want to see any more needless deaths like this. This fire happened due to the negligence of the supervisory agencies and therefore they are equally accused and guilty for this accident. It is important to identify the culprits and bring them under the law.

Even after the Uttara Girder accident, an inquiry committee has been formed by the government, the inquiry report will also come but after a few days no one will keep the news. This is how the guilty get away. It is necessary to ensure exemplary punishment by bringing the supervisory agencies under the law after investigating the incident. However, such unwanted and negligent killings can be prevented.

Writer: Banker and Columnist