THE earthquake that ripped through Nepal and hit northwestern part of India and Bangladesh has caused massive loss of life and property, particularly in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu and tourist town of Pokhara; which is the epicenter of the tremor. Initial report said death tolls so far stood over 1000 by last night and a Nepalese diplomat in Delhi feared it may be over ‘many hundreds.’ The 7.9 magnitude tremor also sent waves of panic to Bangladesh and India showing that nature binds people across the region beyond geographical partition and we have to plan and develop our disaster management accordingly. Meanwhile, we express our solidarity with the people of Nepal at this hours of their national calamities.
The tremor in Nepal triggered panic in the capital Dhaka as people rushed out in the streets for safety. In Savar, on the outskirts of the capital at least 50 garment workers were injured in a stampede when they made rush to vacate the factory building. Scores of buildings have also collapsed or showed cracks on the wall in the city and districts claiming death toll so far at 6. Initial death tolls in India reported at 30 as the tremor hits Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Himalayan region of West Bengal and Sikkim.
Needless to say, the earthquake in Nepal has come as a fresh reminder to Bangladesh as to how we are building our cities and major infrastructure and how far they are capable to sustain impacts of tremors — not so big one, even at mid level magnitude. We know that Dhaka city is sitting on at least five geological fault lines making it highly vulnerable to disaster anytime. It is true devastation does not visit frequently but its possibility is there anytime raising question whether our city planners are taking into consideration the risks when approving construction plans. We know Dhaka is a sprawling city and rapidly expanding, but most buildings here and in other cities have no strong foundation to absorb big shocks as they are built in most cases with inferior quality construction materials with faulty engineering designs. Most apartment buildings or multi-storied towers are hitting the city skyline overnight without support from tremor protective technology. It is to every body’s knowledge that most engineers at Rajuk, Public Works Department, government housing and road and highways are corrupt allowing construction of government and private projects without enough safety that may swiftly collapse if they are hit by big tremors. Experts fear that Dhaka city may turn into rubble with narrow lanes and insufficient access roads in case a big tremor hits the area around it. The strenuous rescue operation at Rana Plaza showed how helpless we are to face such a disaster.
So we must say, this disaster in Nepal must remind us again whether we are planning our cities properly and we must take the occasion for reassessing our disaster preparedness to make sure if such a calamity hits us anytime how we may be able to save our people.
