Editorial
Deaths at building sites
Time to punish law breakers
Maruf is six years old. He lost his father before his birth, mother was married off to another person and since he has been under the care of his grandparents. The playful child now lies numb, staring at you blankly. He doesn't know that his 4-year old playmate, Tawhid is dead.
Maruf and Tawhid are victims of carelessness of the owners, builders, and construction workers. Pieces of brick fell on the two from an under-construction building at East Rampura on January 24, while they were playing by the building. Little Tawhid died. Maruf survived but a part of his brain has been damaged. He now lies paralyzed in Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Not only do the people who come beneath these under construction structures risk their safety, it is also the construction workers who are exposed to fatally risky situations. They are seen cliff-hanging while working in the exterior of high-rise structures. We have known many cases of death caused due to fall of workers from dangerous heights.
We do not know how many of the victims or the affected families are compensated duly by the property owners. Maruf's rickshaw puller grandfather was paid Tk.5500 by the building owner for his treatment. This is too little, for sure. The owner is on bail from the High Court in a criminal case filed against him.
According to National Building Code, the authorities concerned must ensure safety measures in and around the construction site. But almost all such sites do not have adequate safety measures exposing the surrounding area to dangers of loss of lives and limbs, let alone vehicles.
The government should seriously take note of the incidents caused mainly due to sheer negligence and disregard for law. Mobile vigilance team could be formed to monitor the ongoing construction works in and around the city and mete out appropriate punishment to the law breakers.
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