Just another day in Dhaka or a grave reality check?
Dhaka is riddled with bureaucratic incompetence. Apathy has rendered the average city dweller utterly indifferent about the chaos of our city.
On August 15, 2022, five people were killed after a segment of a box girder of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project fell from a crane on a car in Dhaka's Uttara area.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The incident left the city in shock, images from the scene became viral on social media and people seemed concerned by the tragedy.
This specific chain of events may seem unique, however, the loss of life as a direct result of administrative incompetence is the very reality of people's lives in this city.
A few other absurd ways people risk losing their lives in this city include entire foot-over bridges collapsing on traffic underneath, or a single brick falling on a passing pedestrian costing his life.
However, human nature is to forget and move on. An average city dweller is preoccupied with the uncertainty of earning basic necessities. They can't afford to be bothered about irregular, separate freak accidents threatening their lives.
What now? Financial compensation to the families or maybe even a memorial? None of which, are solutions to the greater issue. Respective authorities are more inclined to deal with each "fire" they come under rather than ensuring general public safety.
Laws are in place, administrative bodies exist to make sure that laws are followed. However, two and two don't add up. As a result, living in Dhaka is an extreme ordeal. Your life can end at any given moment. Yet, people live oblivious to this threat.
Dhaka is an ancient city, founded in the 4th century and later became the capital of the proto-industrialised Mughal Bengal. The city features are unplanned as a result. Every shift of sovereignty added to what the last one created. This makes modern infrastructure development projects very difficult. To create, things must be demolished. However, problem occurs when these projects are not done ensuring public safety.
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