Editorial
Billboard collapse in Gulshan
Wholesale review of urban business publicity needed
THE tragedy resulting from the collapse of a billboard in Gulshan on Monday raises a number of serious and pertinent questions. The incident has left two individuals dead and quite a few others injured. There have been similar incidents in the past as well and what happened after those incidents is that business went on as usual, with no one in authority worried about the need for corrective measures to be taken. Now, where the matter is strictly one of a putting up of billboards, it is clear that no specific rules are being followed and in fact the city corporation has adopted a policy that obviously does not take matters of public safety into account. Billboards are often put up at the most unlikely of places and in such a manner that they can collapse any time. Moreover, the corporation and the firms putting them up simply ignore the dangers that arise from such a cavalier attitude. No technical assessments regarding billboards and hoardings are made. What does become glaring to the eye is that crass commercialization is at work, with DCC only too happy to permit any business firm to publicise itself in any way it likes.
In light of the tragedy that has now taken place (and this is in addition to an earlier one in late February when a youth died from injuries resulting from a falling billboard), one must ask the city mayor and his administration about the degree of accountability they maintain regarding hoardings. Clearly, the first step here is for the corporation and the firm involved to compensate the families of those killed and wounded in such incidents. Additionally, those whose vehicles have been destroyed in the Gulshan incident must also be given adequate compensation. In a civilised society, no one must be allowed to get away with such callousness. As it is, over the past many years, a failure by the city corporation to delineate the frontiers between commercialism and aesthetics has led to the nation's capital rapidly taking on an ugly appearance. There are hardly any proper residential areas left any more because of the ubiquity of business establishments everywhere. The greenery which Dhaka was once famous for is now a tale of the past. And one of the worst aspects of urban life today is a blatant absence of pedestrian rights.
It is time for action. Whether the city can be reclaimed in all its past glory may be a pointless question, but there is a sure need for some action to be taken in order to give Dhaka some semblance of decency. We believe that there must a rationalisation of policy where commercial publicity is concerned. Clear guidelines about billboards, those that cannot be flouted with impunity, must be put in place. Meanwhile, an official drive must get underway to pull down all hazardous billboards not just in Dhaka but in other places in the country as well. We do not think that on its own DCC should be making such policies. Let there be a committee to devise a clear set of policies not only about billboards but also about restoring a sense of aesthetics to Dhaka as a city. Of course, such policies must be underscored by a guarantee of public safety.
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