Whither disaster risk reduction?
Savar collapse questions our accountability
Debris being cleared at Rana Plaza disaster site.
"Dhaka is already recognised as the most unplanned city in the world, but what makes it more vulnerable a place to live in is the fact that geographically the city is located in a high risk zone for earthquake and a massive disaster might hit this metropolis anytime even if there is a moderate earthquake."
We the people, who are involved in the disaster management program, often feel proud to be global leaders in disaster preparedness. Moreover, many countries in the world consider Bangladesh as the voice of disaster affected people on the global platform. However, when we experience such unfortunate fatalities like Rana Plaza, we question ourselves, how ready is our country to face both natural and manmade disasters waiting to strike? Perhaps, the answer is, not the one we will be hoping for.
The building collapse at Savar again has reminded us that we are not learning from our mistakes. And also that we are not safe anymore because it is too late to right the wrongs we have already done. The same could happen any time anywhere causing hundreds of casualties and enormous economic loss in a matter of few minutes. Rana Plaza is just one building that took hundreds of innocent lives; there are thousands other buildings which have already been constructed and more are also under construction forcing thousands of people to live in such unsafe condition. As long as the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) is not taken with necessary gravity, and unless there is no strict monitoring mechanism adopted by the concerned authorities on the implementation process, we are consciously moving towards further catastrophe. The media reports are worth mentioning that Rana Plaza was not constructed following the guidelines of the BNBC.
According to media reports, the death toll has crossed 500 with over a thousand injured. The nine-storied infrastructure housed five garment factories, a market and a branch of BRAC Bank. What is even more disturbing is that hundreds others are still.
Nowadays building collapse seems to have become a common phenomenon in Bangladesh. Even we do not seem to have a sense of surprise with such news. Not sure though if it is because we already know about the large number of multi-storied buildings being constructed defying the rules for safer construction or it just has turned into a approved practice. Bangladesh has approved the BNBC which places legal obligation to all urban constructions. The purpose of the BNBC guideline is to establish minimum standards for site selection, design, construction process, quality of materials in use, and occupancy and maintenance of buildings in order to safeguard, within achievable limits, life, limb, health, property and public welfare. But it is unfortunate having to admit that we are far behind as far as effective implementation of BNBC is concerned.
Dhaka is already recognised as the most unplanned city in the world, but what makes it more vulnerable a place to live in is the fact that geographically the city is located in a high risk zone for earthquake and a massive disaster might hit this metropolis anytime even if there is a moderate earthquake. A study shows that about 78,323 buildings will be completely destroyed if an earthquake of 6 magnitude shakes Dhaka.
Returning to the case of Rana Plaza, there have been some drawbacks in the entire system. The owner of the building did not follow the Razuk approved guideline while constructing the building. But the most alarming thing is, Razuk was aware of the matter and did not take the issue seriously (Source: News channel Ekattor). According to the rule, the owner should take endorsement of the design from Razuk which is the authority to approve the plan and design for any construction. As far as commercial placement is concerned, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Associations (BGMEA) also has an important role in the planning and designing process of garments factories; for instance, they review the plan and give approval for the site of garments factory construction. However, BGMEA did not play their part as reviewer. This particular building was constructed in an unsuitable place filling a marshy land. Adding to the underlying risk factors, the building collapsed due to the structural failure rather than foundation failure (according to the civil engineer, News Ekattor), which means quality materials were not used in the construction of the building. So a garments factory should never have been permitted in such a risky building where thousands of lives are at stake. Lack of awareness is also harshly visible in this case as there are reports that they have observed the crack in the column of the building prior to the occurrence and brought the issue into the notice of the management and the local government. The UNO also visited the site but did not take any initiative to stop work at the factory.
Government has established national disaster response coordination group for effective and smooth running of response program but as far as emergency response is concerned, we have observed lack of coordination at government level during Savar disaster. We could not establish sufficient facilities in the hospitals to provide services to the affected people. We have seen that a coordinated search and rescue operation from the Armed Forces Division, Fire Service & Civil Defence and trained and local volunteers was not sufficing the need of the hour as the rescue team has been struggling and facing challenges to rescue the trapped victims from the rubbles due to lack of appropriate equipment. However, the government has promised to provide the affected people with food, shelter, relief and necessary rehabilitation facilities. According to the Disaster Management Act, the government should ensure compensation to all the victims and their families for such human induced disaster.
Very often we have been observing almost the same cases in the country. In 2005, the collapse of the Spectrum sweater factory in Dhaka killed 64 people and injured 80. In November 2012, more than 100 workers died in a fire at the Tazreen Fashions Ltd. near Dhaka. Therefore, the question remains how long we will allow such incidences to take place without any strong consequences to detect and take steps against the ones who are to be blamed.
The accountability of the government to provide justice is also ensured by the Disaster Management Act 2012. Thus, proper investigations for each and every incidence are needed and the responsible people must be brought to justice under the Disaster Management Act. The government needs to make sure that any individual or organization does not go unpunished for violating the rule as clearly mentioned in the chapter five (Offence and Punishment) of the Act.
The writers are humanitarian workers. They can be reached at Nnahar@christian-aid.org, and simon.rahman@islamicrelief-bd.org
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