Barely has a month passed since the Shezan factory fire in Narayanganj which claimed 52 lives, that we have yet another fire breaking out at a temporary storage area off the Dhaka-Aricha Highway.
Thankfully, as of yet, no casualties have been reported, nor has any definitive conclusion been offered by authorities with regards to what caused the fire in the first place.
The fire, which started in the morning of Thursday, soon spread throughout the warehouse, catalyzed as expected by the presence of highly flammable chemicals, colours, and other materials.
Despite the massive strides we have taken in economic growth and meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the frequency with which such incidents occur stands in direct contradiction to the idea that Bangladeshis now have higher standards of living.
No amount of digitization will save us from the greed which pushes businesses to save on costs by flouting safety regulations and the utter neglect shown by corrupt authorities in turning a blind eye to the dangerous ways in which factories in our nation function.
Each of these factories is a disaster waiting to happen, thanks to a culture of corrupt incompetence and negligence which leaves the authorities in charge ignoring their duties as public servants to protect the millions of workers who find themselves for hours on end at one of these factories.
It is imperative that every incident is investigated thoroughly so that those responsible are brought to book -- but that is not where the process should end.
Officers within our public administration who ignored their duties to allow such an incident to happen should also be held accountable, to end the culture of negligence.
