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Life must go on

Whether it is the builder, the architect or the person who had stored dangerous flammable chemicals on the ground floor of the building -- they should be accountable for such a tragedy. We are talking about real lives here. Some families were totally wiped out and some were left to mourn the loss of a father, a mother or a sibling.

Zeenat Khan
NO elaborate Bengali wedding rituals took place for three days, no shehnai played raga dhun by Ustad Bismillah Khan, nor were there live musicians who sang wedding songs. Their houses were not filled with the usual ruckus associated with a house where a wedding is about to take place, nor were there multitudes of sweetmeats arranged for the guests. They had no house.
This particular wedding was a solemn occasion. It was a triple wedding ceremony for Ratna, Runa and Asma that took place at the prime minister's house in Gano Bhaban last week. Sheikh Hasina acted as the guardian for these three young brides, for two of them were sisters who became orphans and one lost her mother and her father. They are the victims of the June 3 Nimtoli fire.
The prime minister, clad in an aqua and off-white sari, never looked more maternal and graceful. The three brides wore traditional red Benarasi saris with elaborate gold sequins and were adorned with garlands and jewels. The prime minister blessed their marriages and gave them the wedding ceremony on behalf of their parents. It is not everyday that a prime minister of a country attends a wedding of a private citizen, let alone hosts the
wedding. Circumstances were such that she felt compelled to do so.
The Nimtoli tragedy is heartbreaking on many levels. Many are still fighting for their lives as I write this article. There has been some criticism because the mandatory forty-day mourning period has not been observed. Some thought it would have been prudent to wait. At a time like this, instead of being critical in our views, we can think of the higher significance of such an intervention by the prime minister.
The weddings took place in the absence of their parents and loved ones because even in the midst of a grave tragedy life goes on. These young girls now have husbands and they can share their pain, and the healing process can begin. One of the grooms has also lost his mother and other family members. We, as a nation, wish the young couples a very blessed life together.
A lot has been written about the fire, which is one of the most unfortunate accidents in recent history. Unable to leave the five-storey building because of the blazing inferno, people were trapped inside and burnt alive. By the time help arrived, a lot of them were already dead. One hundred and nineteen people died in that fire.
From the reports, it is clear that there was no emergency exit in that
building. People were just trapped. Because of the location of the building, the firefighters were not able to get there fast enough. When they finally arrived, the building had already been engulfed by flames so intense that they were ordered to stay back. It was deemed too dangerous for the rescue operation to take place by simply entering the building.
Now, should we not be looking into who the builder of this building is? At the time when the building was being constructed, did the builders violate the law that calls for installation of mandatory emergency exits? Why was the construction of the five-storey building so poor, knowing very well that it may be exposed to various hazards?
A builder just doesn't build a five-storey building in one day. However, it is nothing new in Dhaka, where many of the buildings are constructed without the permission of the government. These greedy builders bypass all regulations by bribing corrupt officials and erect those buildings without the government's authorised permit. They also don't feel the need to think about emergency exits in their plans.
Common sense tells me that if there was a fire exit or some other way of getting out of the building instead of the front stairway many lives could have been saved. There was no fire alarm in that building. It is not a legal requirement for the builders to install one in Bangladesh. The responsibility falls on the tenants/house owners.
A lot of the survivors suffered third-degree burns, which is one of the most horrendous traumas that a body can suffer. It is a full thickness burn injury where the outer and the inner layers of the epidermis get damaged. If these patients manage to live the first few weeks without developing any serious
infections, which may lead to death, they will need surgery and skin grafting. This is a dire situation. These burn victims need a lot of special care.
We need to find out the architect who was hired by this particular builder. The person who made the original blueprint had no foresight, and because of that person's bad planning many lives have been lost. In that case, is it not pure negligence? Whether it is the builder, the architect or the person who had stored dangerous flammable chemicals on the
ground floor of the building — they should be accountable for such a tragedy.
We are talking about real lives here. Some families were totally wiped out and some were left to mourn the loss of a father, a mother ora sibling.
Since the Nimtoli fire happened in the old part of Dhaka, I think a lot of us are not asking the right questions. Had it been in Gulshan or Baridhara wouldn’t there have been more noise about the emergency fire exit plan? God forbid, but if this had taken place
in an affluent area we would have gotten real answers by now.
A person in Nimtoli is no less important than a person who lives in Gulshan. Grief strikes everyone in the same way. Because of this incident, three girls have been left behind with no parents on their wedding days — which was supposed to have been the happiest day of their lives.
Zeenat Khan Is a freelance writer based in the United States.