28.03.2017 Views

DT e-Paper 29 March 2017

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

2<br />

WEDNESDAY, MARCH <strong>29</strong>, <strong>2017</strong><br />

<strong>DT</strong><br />

News<br />

The perils of mega projects<br />

• Mahadi Al Hasnat<br />

Land grabbers continue to pile misery upon Santals<br />

• Adil Sakhawat<br />

Dwijen Tudu who was blinded<br />

in the left eye during the attack<br />

on Santals in Gaibandha last November<br />

came to Dhaka to speak<br />

at a public hearing yesterday even<br />

though he and his wife were both<br />

threatened not to attend.<br />

He spoke about the inaction of<br />

local lawmakers and the Chairman<br />

of Shapmara Union Parisad at the<br />

public hearing on the violation of<br />

human rights of indigenous people<br />

organised by the Institute for<br />

Environment and Development at<br />

CBCB Centre.<br />

Speaking on how their land was<br />

being taken by land grabbers, he<br />

said: “We are still being threatened<br />

to not return, even today when we<br />

Poor condition of the drainage system in Malibagh’s DIT Road often results in water stagnation without any rain, as seen<br />

yesterday afternoon. Such a condition becomes a matter of concern as open manholes and deep potholes remain submerged<br />

and unnoticed by commuters, increasing the chances of fatal accidents<br />

RAJIB DHAR<br />

MAJOR CONSTRUCTION SITE ACCIDENTS<br />

The Bahaddarhat Flyover accident<br />

in Chittagong occurred on 24<br />

November 2012 when steel<br />

girders collapsed, killing at least 12<br />

people.<br />

Rabbi Ahmed Emon, a construction<br />

worker of the Moghbazar-Mouchak<br />

flyover, suffered multiple injuries<br />

when an iron rod fell on his head at<br />

Most of the mega development<br />

projects the government has implemented<br />

or is working on put people<br />

and construction workers at grave<br />

risk due to a lack of proper safety<br />

measures.<br />

Despite the <strong>March</strong> 13 death of<br />

a worker in a girder collapse of the<br />

much-hyped under-construction<br />

Moghbazar-Mouchak flyover in<br />

Malibagh rail gate area, safety issues<br />

in construction sites continue to remain<br />

neglected. Two others were<br />

also badly injured in the accident.<br />

During some recent visits to such<br />

construction sites, including the<br />

flyover’s Malibagh part and Mirpur<br />

where work on the metro-rail<br />

project is under way, workers were<br />

found discharging their duties with<br />

little safety gears.<br />

Though most of them were wearing<br />

helmets, not all of them were<br />

seen using special boots and retro-reflective<br />

vests, masks and even<br />

gloves, mandatory for such work.<br />

There is even no fence around<br />

the construction site of the flyover,<br />

leaving vehicles and pedestrians in<br />

danger of serious casualty. However,<br />

there are some enclosures at the<br />

metro-rail project site.<br />

An accident can very easily be<br />

triggered by a falling brick, a broken<br />

bamboo panel or scrawny metallic<br />

pieces, with such risk increasing<br />

manifold at night.<br />

There is hardly any signboard<br />

or cautionary signals at the sites to<br />

warn people to remain vigilant.<br />

Such risky construction sites are<br />

a gross violation of the Dhaka Metropolitan<br />

Building (Construction,<br />

Development, Protection and Removal)<br />

Rules of 2008 which has stipulated<br />

necessary safety measures in<br />

and around any construction site.<br />

According to the rules, it is a must<br />

to set up temporary barriers and alternative<br />

roads to ensure the safety<br />

of the people.<br />

The workers are operating heavy<br />

machines in dusty and toxic environments,<br />

further exposing themselves<br />

to health hazards.<br />

“Our employer has provided us<br />

with some helmets, anti-slip footwear<br />

and protective vest etc, but<br />

they are inadequate,” a construction<br />

worker at the flyover told the Dhaka<br />

Tribune, requesting anonymity.<br />

“We are yet to get protective<br />

masks, special glasses and first aid<br />

were coming to attend the programme<br />

we were warned.<br />

“No one has been arrested for<br />

the attack even though it has been<br />

four months. We demand the government<br />

let us return to our land<br />

and build permanent homes for us<br />

there.”<br />

The indigenous people from<br />

Pahan, Santals and Oraon spoke of<br />

the continuous harassment they<br />

faced with false cases being filed<br />

in their names, which they say is a<br />

ploy by Bangalis to grab their lands.<br />

They demanded these allegations<br />

be properly investigated by<br />

NGOS and the government.<br />

It has been four months since<br />

the attacks happened and a lot of<br />

Santals are still homeless and living<br />

in desperate conditions.<br />

work on <strong>March</strong> 16 last year. Afterwards,<br />

he succumbed to his injures<br />

at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.<br />

SM Piyal Ahmed, a private job<br />

holder, sustained injuries in his<br />

head as construction materials fell<br />

on him from the under-construction<br />

flyover in front of Fortune<br />

Shopping Mall at Mouchak crossing<br />

facilities at the construction yard,”<br />

he added.<br />

When contacted, the construction<br />

firm Toma Group’s Chairman<br />

and Managing Director Ataur Rahman<br />

Bhuiya Manik, responsible for<br />

the Moghbazar-Mouchak flyover,<br />

claimed to have taken all necessary<br />

safety measures for the workers.<br />

He instead accused the workers<br />

of not being accustomed to using<br />

the safety tools.<br />

“The accident was merely an<br />

accident despite all sorts of safety<br />

on December 22, 2016.<br />

On April 4 in 2015, construction<br />

workers Asaduzzaman, 18, his<br />

brother Majedul, 16, and several<br />

others, including Majur Hossain,<br />

were working at the flyover near<br />

Moghbazar crossing. Suddenly, a<br />

bus ploughed through them, killing<br />

both the siblings on the spot.<br />

“We are continuously being harassed<br />

by the police with these false<br />

cases being filed against us. We are<br />

so scared that our children do not<br />

leave the house, not even to go to<br />

school,” said Olivia Hembrom at<br />

the hearing.<br />

Three indigenous people were<br />

killed and seven people disappeared<br />

during the attack on the<br />

indigenous people in Gobindaganj<br />

of Gaibandha district on November<br />

6, 2016.<br />

Even though so much time has<br />

passed no progress has been made<br />

by the government, the speakers at<br />

the public hearing said.<br />

Uzzal Pahan from Akkelpur<br />

upazila of Joypurhat lost his uncle<br />

Mohonlal Pahan in August last<br />

year. He was killed by land grabbers.<br />

“The only reason I lost my uncle<br />

is because the land grabbers lost<br />

the false case they filed against us<br />

and they took revenge by killing<br />

him,” Uzzal alleged.<br />

“They also attacked our home,”<br />

he added.<br />

The hearing was full of people<br />

saying the practice of land grabbers<br />

filing false cases was rampant.<br />

“There is a huge financial burden<br />

that comes with having to hire<br />

a lawyer and going to court. At this<br />

rate, we are going to be left landless<br />

and destitute,” said Robisoy from<br />

Nawabganj, Rajshahi.<br />

Bicitra Tikri of Chapainawabganj<br />

lamented on the extent of<br />

their rights being violated, having<br />

been raped by land grabbers when<br />

measures,” Manik claimed.<br />

Passersby and locals suggested<br />

more precaution and a safety campaign<br />

at Malibagh rail-crossing area<br />

since scores of trains run along the<br />

route every day.<br />

Abul Hashem, gatekeeper of<br />

Malibagh level crossing, said another<br />

girder had fallen on the ground at<br />

the same of the <strong>March</strong> 13 accident,<br />

recently. Luckily, nobody was injured<br />

then.<br />

Terming negligence of safety<br />

precaution by construction companies<br />

a key reason for accidents,<br />

Buet’s Professor Shamim Z Basunia<br />

said: “This is not a problem at Malibagh-Mouchak<br />

flyover alone. The<br />

reality is that the safety issues have<br />

always been neglected by the construction<br />

companies in the country.”<br />

He also raised questions over<br />

safety measures at the Padma Bridge<br />

construction site, another mega project,<br />

where people visit whimsically,<br />

caring very little about own safety.<br />

“Safety measures for the workers<br />

and the pedestrians are never<br />

ensured in these projects areas”, he<br />

observed.<br />

The Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development<br />

Project, the official name<br />

of the metro rail scheme, stretching<br />

from Uttara to Motijheel, was undertaken<br />

for a safe, fast, affordable and<br />

modern means of public transportation<br />

to reduce the perennial traffic<br />

congestion in Dhaka and environmental<br />

pollution. But, the project is<br />

itself causing environmental degradation<br />

since construction equipment<br />

and materials are left lying around<br />

defying relevant law.<br />

People walking by the site were<br />

seen wearing masks to protect<br />

themselves from dust.<br />

At the Shewrapara area, roads<br />

were excavated haphazardly and<br />

that too without proper fencing,<br />

adding to the woes of the commuters<br />

and locals.<br />

When this reporter asked a labourer<br />

about the situation, he said<br />

they were told to mount the soil beside<br />

the road after digging.<br />

The project director, Md Mofazzel<br />

Hossain said: “We have a<br />

safety guideline provided by Jica to<br />

ensure necessary safety measures<br />

around the construction site and we<br />

will try our best to ensure hundred<br />

percent public security.”<br />

Nevertheless, the main construction<br />

of the project will begin by November,<br />

he stated. •<br />

she tried to get her deceased husband’s<br />

land.<br />

“The government is blind to<br />

the level of harassment the indigenous<br />

people are subjected to. They<br />

should form a land commission for<br />

the indigenous community,” she<br />

said, adding that the government’s<br />

inaction has been nothing short of<br />

frustrating.<br />

After hearing all these allegations<br />

Srijoni Tripura, a Supreme<br />

Court lawyer, urged the government<br />

to take separate initiatives to<br />

stop the human rights violation of<br />

indigenous people.<br />

She also suggested lawmakers<br />

be stripped of their position if<br />

found guilty of being involved<br />

in land grabbing of indigenous<br />

people. •

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!