Editorial
Deaths at construction sites
Brazen defiance of building code
The frequency of deaths at construction sites in Dhaka should set many heads rolling. Either it is the worker falling from dangerous heights due to complete lack of precaution or it is the vulnerable pedestrian hit by a missile of a brick or lethal piece, the horrific incidence goes on.
The latest in the series of mishaps comes with the sad death of four workers ascending on a make-shift lift loaded with 25 packets of tiles each pack weighing 28 kilos when it plunged to the ground from the 13th floor in a terrifying free fall, killing all four. The question is, was the makeshift lift ever tested for its capacity ever?
As many as 97 people were killed between January and June this year. Neither the incidence were probed nor to our knowledge the responsible were held to account or brought to book.
What brings to the fore for the umpteenth time is non-compliance with safety rules by the owners and contractors of the high rise structures. Most of the private construction firms do not comply with provisions of Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) that stipulates conditions to be met in regards to safety of the workers in particular and the public in general. When deviation in approved designs and manipulation with the engineering aspects go unnoticed, obviously concerns over worker safety or hazard posed to public are ignored with impunity.
The construction companies are reported to be reluctant to supply basic safety gears to the workers. Some under-construction buildings do not have safety nets to protect the people passing underneath or provide cushion to the accidentally falling workers.
Given the hectic pace at which high-rise buildings are being erected in Dhaka, Rajdhani Unnayan Katripakha (RAJUK) should be staffed with adequate manpower including qualified building inspectors and provided with regular supply of logistics.
Usually, RAJUK takes refuge in manpower shortage to explain away its lapses, which may have some foundation, but how can they justify the level of corruption they have been allegedly indulging in at some level or the other to turn a blind eye to infractions of law.
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