Editorial
Tragedy on Batali Hill
Have we learnt any lesson?
The recovery of seventeen bodies in the aftermath of the landslide and protection wall collapse in Chittagong's Batali Hill area is a tragedy that could have been avoided. It is not that such calamities are new in this country.
In the past too there have been torrential rains which have led to landslides in the hilly regions and consequent death of people living nearby. And every time such accidents have occurred, the authorities have been spurred into action more as a reaction than as a step toward preventing a recurrence of such accidents in future. Had the authorities been more assertive about citizens' safety in the face of natural disasters, we could perhaps have averted the disaster this time.
We have been told that people inhabiting areas close to the hills have repeatedly been warned to move to safer locations in the interest of their safety. That is appreciated, but such warnings should have been followed by strict action on the part of the authorities.
The mayor has spoken of the city corporation asking people in the Batali Hill region and elsewhere to relocate. That is not good enough. When lives are always at the mercy of nature, it becomes the duty of the administration to undertake two essential responsibilities. In the first place, residents of the vulnerable areas are asked to move to safer locations before disaster actually strikes. Secondly, once it becomes obvious that voluntary relocation is not taking place, it becomes important for the authorities to move in and take people to safety.
Some important lessons should have been learnt from the Batali Hill tragedy. Let such disaster not lead to deaths again. All-out action towards removing people and homes from below, and around the hills and relocating them to safer places, must now commence.
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