Asked, they replied that they usually wore safety harnesses, but “forgot” to wear them at the time.
In addition to being struck by objects, other common causes of death and serious injury at work include electrocution, faulty ladder, flimsy scaffolding, equipment failure or defect, fire and slippery surface. Experts observe that perilous job site conditions result from construction firms failing to comply with relevant safety standards and laws.
According to the international construction safety manual, construction firms should ensure all the safety measures for pedestrians moving beside the sites before they start their work. It also underscores coordinating with the traffic department for ensuring safe vehicular movement.
The manual emphasises checking whether the routing is appropriate for vehicles and pedestrians’ movement, posting adequate warnings, and designating safe pedestrian crossings on roads.
Apart from setting speed limits, mirrors should be installed at black spots to avoid accidents, it stresses.
Though the Dhaka Metropolitan Building (Construction, Development, Protection and Removal) Rules-2008 made safety measures mandatory at and around construction sites, one could hardly be seen complying with the rules at the overpass construction site.
Kazi Shifun Newaz, an assistant professor of Accident Research Institute of the Bangladesh University of Science and Technology (Buet), said: “As the Malibagh area is increasingly getting accident prone, proper safety measures should be taken.”
Identifying negligence and non-compliance with the rules as major causes of such fatalities, Shamim Z Basunia, former chairman of Buet’s civil engineering department, said the safety issue had always been neglected by construction companies.
“If anyone visits the Padma Bridge construction site, he or she will find people moving through the area according to their whims, which can cause a deadly accident anytime,” he added.The country is undergoing a revamp under the government’s one mega-development project after another. But the development comes at a huge price.
Construction workers, who are known for their strong professional ethics and indispensable contributions to making possible the development, are often seen falling victim to fatal accidents in the line of duty.
The collapse of a girder of an under-construction Mogbazar-Mowchak flyover in Dhaka’s Malibagh area on Monday has raised immense concerns among the people about safety at construction sites.
Four people died in fatal accidents since the beginning of its construction work with the latest accident reported on Monday. One of the four deceased was a pedestrian while the other three were the project’s workers.
Sirajul Islam, a worker of the project, said another beam had fallen on the ground some 15 days back when a crane was lifting it. However, no death or injury was reported in connection with the incident, he added.
On Wednesday, when visiting the site, this correspondent found workers at Mouchak point working without protective equipment.
Asked, they replied that they usually wore safety harnesses, but “forgot” to wear them at the time.
In addition to being struck by objects, other common causes of death and serious injury at work include electrocution, faulty ladder, flimsy scaffolding, equipment failure or defect, fire and slippery surface. Experts observe that perilous job site conditions result from construction firms failing to comply with relevant safety standards and laws.
According to the international construction safety manual, construction firms should ensure all the safety measures for pedestrians moving beside the sites before they start their work. It also underscores coordinating with the traffic department for ensuring safe vehicular movement.
The manual emphasises checking whether the routing is appropriate for vehicles and pedestrians’ movement, posting adequate warnings, and designating safe pedestrian crossings on roads.
Apart from setting speed limits, mirrors should be installed at black spots to avoid accidents, it stresses.
Though the Dhaka Metropolitan Building (Construction, Development, Protection and Removal) Rules-2008 made safety measures mandatory at and around construction sites, one could hardly be seen complying with the rules at the overpass construction site.
Kazi Shifun Newaz, an assistant professor of Accident Research Institute of the Bangladesh University of Science and Technology (Buet), said: “As the Malibagh area is increasingly getting accident prone, proper safety measures should be taken.”
Identifying negligence and non-compliance with the rules as major causes of such fatalities, Shamim Z Basunia, former chairman of Buet’s civil engineering department, said the safety issue had always been neglected by construction companies.
“If anyone visits the Padma Bridge construction site, he or she will find people moving through the area according to their whims, which can cause a deadly accident anytime,” he added.
Asked, they replied that they usually wore safety harnesses, but “forgot” to wear them at the time.
In addition to being struck by objects, other common causes of death and serious injury at work include electrocution, faulty ladder, flimsy scaffolding, equipment failure or defect, fire and slippery surface. Experts observe that perilous job site conditions result from construction firms failing to comply with relevant safety standards and laws.
According to the international construction safety manual, construction firms should ensure all the safety measures for pedestrians moving beside the sites before they start their work. It also underscores coordinating with the traffic department for ensuring safe vehicular movement.
The manual emphasises checking whether the routing is appropriate for vehicles and pedestrians’ movement, posting adequate warnings, and designating safe pedestrian crossings on roads.
Apart from setting speed limits, mirrors should be installed at black spots to avoid accidents, it stresses.
Though the Dhaka Metropolitan Building (Construction, Development, Protection and Removal) Rules-2008 made safety measures mandatory at and around construction sites, one could hardly be seen complying with the rules at the overpass construction site.
Kazi Shifun Newaz, an assistant professor of Accident Research Institute of the Bangladesh University of Science and Technology (Buet), said: “As the Malibagh area is increasingly getting accident prone, proper safety measures should be taken.”
Identifying negligence and non-compliance with the rules as major causes of such fatalities, Shamim Z Basunia, former chairman of Buet’s civil engineering department, said the safety issue had always been neglected by construction companies.
“If anyone visits the Padma Bridge construction site, he or she will find people moving through the area according to their whims, which can cause a deadly accident anytime,” he added.