The month of April has been particularly alarming in terms of both the magnitude and frequency of fires. It was therefore not surprising that citizens in various parts of Dhaka started panicking when they smelled gas from their stoves, going as far as vacating their residences.
Unfortunately, this speaks poorly for our fragile infrastructure, lack of faith in establishments, and failure to reassure the people of Bangladesh that all is well; while Titas has now come forward to assure citizens that it is safe to turn on their stoves, their acknowledgment of “problems in some areas” does not inspire much confidence.
Indeed, as has unfortunately been the pattern for most issues regarding Bangladesh, there is a more reactive rather than pro-active approach. If the gas authorities knew beforehand that such an issue could arise, informing the public ahead of time would have gone a long way to not cause panic among the masses.
Furthermore, there is a major need for an overhaul with regard to how we operate; if there are old structures that need to be reassessed, then gas lines and pipes across residences also warrant regular and thorough checks to minimize any risks.
Ultimately, it has been sheer negligence that continues to lead to one catastrophe after the next -- whose frequency could have been greatly reduced had we adopted a more pro-active approach to safety. Moreover, we urge the authorities to not only do their part in keeping citizens safer, but also communicate. There's plenty of worries for the average Bangladeshi already, with no reason to add further fuel to the flames.
