The five lives lost in Monday’s tragic incident, where a loose girder fell on top of a car, can never be brought back.
Even though the incident itself is being probed by the law enforcement, we must ask: Why is it that, whenever such tragedies strike, does no one ever claim any responsibility without the need for any investigation?
As a project, the development of the Bus Rapid Transit was already troubled, with the entire project being well behind schedule having missed deadlines several times since its construction began a decade ago. To the point where the Dhaka-Gazipur Highway has become nigh unusable due to the construction of the 20.5km-BRT, as it regularly results in long tailbacks and has resulted in innumerable potholes along the road.
Such ceaseless delays would obviously expose citizens to construction hazards for longer periods of time.
If there is anything we need to take away from this incident, it’s that our storied culture of unchecked corruption and needless bureaucracy have now begun taking a very real, human toll on us.
But the real problem at hand is the gross lack of accountability on the part of those whose negligence led to this incident. This needs to be addressed. An incident of this magnitude requires those responsible to be held accountable without the need of any intervention of the law enforcement.
This was a project that was carried out under the guidance of our civil administration – if the responsibility lies with any of the third parties, they need to be called out. If the responsibility lies with any government officials, they need to be called out. We cannot allow this incident to set a precedent for us.
As a nation on the cusp of achieving the “developing country” tag, it is expected for Bangladesh to undergo rapid urban development. But that development should never come at the cost of lives.
