Even dead not spared

Long after their death, 2 local BNP leaders, another sued for vandalism; home boss asks IGP to look into it 

Murad prays by the grave of his father Mansur Ali Master, who died a year back, at the Jurain Graveyard on Thursday. Police named Mansur as an accused in a case filed last month. Photo: Star

They must be turning in their graves.

Jahangir Hossain died one and a half years ago, Mansur Ali a year ago and Zilllur Rahman six months back.

Now all these months and years later, police have charged them with vandalising vehicles and planning subversive activities.

The cases, mostly against BNP leaders and activists, were filed with the capital's Kadamtoli and Genderia police stations in recent weeks.

The Daily Star has the death certificates of all the three, visited the grave of one and spoke with relatives and neighbours who were in their funerals.

Mansur and Zillur were local BNP leaders, while Jahangir had no direct political link. 

Apart from these three, at least five other people, who died long ago as reported in the media, have been made accused in cases filed over the last few months -- one each in the capital's Chwakbazar, Jessore, Keraniganj and two in Habiganj.

The Daily Star could not independently confirm those, but aware of such “ghostly” cases, the police authorities recently ordered the unit chiefs to scrutinise how such cases were being filed in different parts of the country.

Mainly BNP leaders of all levels -- central, district, upazila, thana -- are accused in these cases. 

Contacted by phone on Thursday, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said he instructed the inspector general of police to find out why cases were being filed against dead men.

“I have spoken with the IGP even today [Thursday] and asked him to find out who did this,” he said. “It will be verified. How can a dead man be an accused in a case?”  

Apart from the dead, many people who have been implicated in similar cases filed over alleged incidents that took place when they were outside the country or at their workplace. Some are hajj pilgrims, others are paralysed and bound to their beds.

Such loopholes are “unprecedented,” a number of top police officials said.

They said the cases are full of such “mistakes and loopholes” as field level police are filing those against leaders, activists and supporters of the BNP and its front organisations on instructions of the police high-ups.

The cases are being filed following the lists of the central, city, thana and ward unit committees of the BNP. Local units of the ruling Awami League are helping police by providing names, the officials added on condition of anonymity.

As the cases have been filed quickly ahead of BNP's founding anniversary (September 1) and any big programmes or rallies, police did not get enough time to verify whether anyone in the committees are dead, according to the police officials.

In some instances, the alleged incidents did not happen at the time or place mentioned in the case statement.

For example, police in the capital filed 38 cases against several thousand leaders and activists of BNP and its front organisations within 12 hours of the BNP rally on September 30 at Suhrawardy Udyan. At the rally, top BNP leaders instructed party activists to prepare simultaneously for movement and the national election.

The Daily Star visited the 10 spots named as “place of occurance” in the cases filed with Hazaribagh, Dhanmondi, Kalabagan, New Market, Kamrangirchar, Motijheel, Paltan, Shahbagh, Ramna and Jatrabari police.

We spoke with more than a dozen roadside vendors, shop owners and their employees and local residents around each of those spots. None of them could recall any incident of attack on police, vandalism and obstruction of police duty as claimed in the case statements.

Several officials of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said there were instructions from the high-ups to file multiple cases against each BNP leaders and workers.

“If all BNP leaders and active workers are accused in cases, we will be able to arrest them even after announcement of the election schedule. The Election Commission will have nothing to say if an accused in a criminal case is arrested,” said an official, asking not to be named. 

In BNP's estimation, 4,135 cases have been filed against 85,604 identified and 274,703 unidentified party leaders and activists from September 1 to October 4 across the country. During the same period, police arrested 4,650 BNP men in those cases.

The BNP claims all of these cases are aimed at keeping the party men on the run so they cannot take part in polls activities.

Fearing arrests, many are coming to the High Court seeking anticipatory bail.

Since October 1, around 1,000 people who were made accused in such cases have been granted bails, said the deputy attorney generals of two High Court benches concerned.

NO ESCAPE FOR THE DEAD

Zillur Rahman, son of Abdur Rahman from Jurain, died on March 26. He was 38.

Doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital declared him dead after he was taken there with heart problems, according to his death certificate.

He was buried at Azimpur Graveyard the same day and the receipt of the graveyard bears the serial number of 10342.

However, in the two cases filed with the city's Kadamtoli Police Station on September 11 and 12, Zillur has been charged with vandalising vehicles in two places with iron rods and sticks and throwing brick chips at police. He is listed as accused number 3 and 5 respectively in the cases.

According to the case filed by Sub-inspector Ershad Alam, the dead man was among 108 other accused who vandalised Narayanganj- and Chattogram-bound trucks, buses, CNG-run auto-rickshaws and human hauliers, on the road in front of Shyampur Lal Masjid at Kadamtoli at 2:10pm on September 11. 

In the other case filed the next day, SI Alam Badsha found Zillur among 109 accused vandalising trucks, buses and CNG auto-rickshaws moving on Dhaka-Mawa highway in front of Sangit Cinema Hall at Dholaipar at 3:00pm on September 12.

In both the cases, police named him as only Zillur and his father as only Rahman. His address, however, was rightly mentioned.

Zillur was the joint secretary of ward 53 unit of BNP. He lived in Malaysia and South Korea for around 10 years since 1995, said his father.

“We are not getting respite from police even after Zillur's death,” Abdur Rahman told The Daily Star on Tuesday.

Days after filing the cases, a sub-inspector in civil dress went twice in search of his son at an engineering workshop near their home that Zillur ran. He also owned a cosmetic shop in Chawkbazar.

Abdur Rahman said as police used to hunt for his son, he asked Zillur to leave his own area. So around six years ago, Zillur rented a house in Azimpur where he lived with his wife and five-year-old son.    

Zillur's elder brother Mizanur Rahman said they told the police official about his death, but he initially did not trust them. But later police asked them to submit his death certificate to the police station. 

Jahangir Alam, son of late Rowshan Ali Molla in Gendaria, died on July 1 last year at the age of 65 due to cardio respiratory failure, according his death certificate issued by Asgar Ali Hospital in the locality.

Complainant Syed Abdul Mannan, SI at Gendaria Police Station, in the case filed on October 3 mentioned his name as Jahangir Hossain though the address and the father's name match with his.

The case statement says Jahangir was among 77 named and many unnamed BNP-Jamaat leaders and activists who gathered in front of Jahangirnagar Hospital in Gendaria at 5:15pm that day, blocking a road as part of a sabotage plan. He was mentioned as accused number 41.

Family members and locals said Jahangir, a cloth trader in Sadarghat area, was never actively involved in politics.

Abdul Jalil, officer-in-charge of Kadamtoli Police Station, said he was not aware if any dead man was implicated in the case, but would look into it.

Gendaria Police Station OC Kazi Mizanur Rahman also promised to do the same, saying it was not supposed to happen.

'TAKE AWAY HIS BODY'

Mansur, a former BNP ward 52 unit president, died on October 27 last year at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University due to heart failure. He was 62.

A teacher at Muradpur High School and widely known as Mansur Ali Master, he was charged with vandalising trucks, buses, CNG auto-rickshaws and Leguna in front of Eagle Box at Ali Bahar in Kadamtoli on Dhaka-Narayanganj highway on September 5.

Akhter Hossain, a sub-inspector at Kadamtoli Police Station, lodged the case on September 6, where 195 others are also charged. 

“We told the police that he has died, but police did not believe us until we provided them with his death certificate,” said his wife Shahanur Akhter.

Even then an SI with other policemen is harassing her son Mohammad Murad, asking if he is involved with the BNP politics, she alleged.

Murad claimed he was never into politics.

Angered by what is happening centring on her late husband, Shahanur has made a decision.

“If police come again, I will take them to Jurain Graveyard where my husband lies buried. I will tell them: Take away his body,” she said.

• Courtesy: The Daily Star/ Oct 13, 2018

First case filed under Digital Security Act

5 sued for selling fake questions; Cyber Police Centre set up

Two days after the president's signing of the Digital Security Bill into a law, the first case under this act was filed against five youths for selling fake MBBS admission test questions on Wednesday.

The five, who are said to have cheated admission seekers by selling fake questions of this year's MBBS admission test, were sued in a case lodged with Paltan Police Station under sections 23, 24 and 26 of the Digital Security Act and Public Examinations (Offences) Act, said Molla Nazrul Islam, special superintendent of Criminal Investigation Department's organised crime unit.

This syndicate used to leak questions of different public universities' entrance exams, said police. 

The five were produced before a Dhaka court with a remand prayer. The court placed each of them on a two-day remand. 

In another development, Bangladesh Police has got a fully-fledged specialised unit with jurisdiction to investigate the cases filed under the Digital Security Act and prevent spread of rumours on social media.

In an order, the home ministry's Public Security Division yesterday approved the unit, which is named “Cyber Police Centre”.

The much-debated Digital Security Bill becomes a law after the president signed it on Monday amid widespread criticism that it curbs freedom of speech and expression and media freedom guaranteed by the constitution.

The law was passed in parliament on September 19, keeping a harsh provision which allows police officials to search or arrest anyone without any warrant.

On several occasions, the Sampadak Parishad (Editors' Council) and media practitioners expressed serious concern over sections 8, 21, 25, 28, 29, 31, 32, and 43 of the act, saying the provisions restrict free-thinking, freedom of speech and freedom of expression. But the law was enacted keeping the provisions intact.

'CYBER POLICE CENTRE'

The specialised unit of CID, “Cyber Police Centre”, will have 342 posts and it will function under the organisational structure of the CID, according to the home ministry's order.

Headed by a deputy inspector general, the specialised unit will have two additional deputy inspector generals, three superintendents of police, six additional SPs, 18 assistant SPs, 45 inspectors, 140 sub-inspectors, 30 assistant sub-inspectors, 75 constables and 22 other support staffers.

CID officer Nazrul told The Daily Star yesterday that they were hopeful of providing special support to prevent rumours and social media crimes as the unit would enhance their capacity.

Sources said the new unit would start using special social media monitoring tools for watching the digital arena when it would have full manpower. They would use the open source intelligence software to check database and information of different social media sites.

Currently, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police has only a 70-member cyber security division dedicated to cyber cases. The detective branch of DMP also investigates cyber-related incidents but on a small scale.

Besides, Police Headquarters has formed a cyber crime “coordination cell”, and the cell has already started their activities from the first week of September to prevent spread of rumours and fake news during the upcoming national election, according to officials.

Around 100 police teams across the country are giving their updates to the cell, and these teams will also check activities of social media platforms during the national election, they added.

• Courtesy: The Daily Star /Oct 14, 2018

Polarisation over election-time govt almost completed

Editorial

THE government, presided over by the Awami League, appears to have decided and been working, for some time now, towards holding the next general elections, scheduled by the end of the year, under the partisan government framework, with the parliament still remaining fully functional during polling. What ranking government and ruling party leaders and even the people on the Election Commission have been saying for some time also suggests that it is highly likely that electronic voting machines would be used in the next parliamentary elections although 35, out of the 40, political parties registered with the commission in dialogues in 2017 disagreed on the use of voting machines. 

On the other front, where other political parties outside power are shaping up their alliance or on their own centring on their next political course, the Jatiya Oikya Front, or the national unity front, launched at a programme at the National Press Club on Saturday, has come up with demands seeking resignation of the government, dissolution of the parliament and the formation of an election-time party-neutral government for the national elections. The demands that the National Unity Front has come up in a few cases, when they relate to the holding of the national elections. are similar to, if not identical with, those of other alliances or parties.

The Left Democratic Alliance, the platform that the leftist political parties have formed, has the few demands in question in common. The Islami Andolan Bangladesh party, which is reported to be gearing for the elections, has similar demands. Outside such alliances or political parties is the alliance of 20 political parties that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the political arch-rival of the ruling Awami League, leads, having similar demands. 

The Bikalpadhara Bangladesh party, which has finally been abandoned by the Unity Front, has similar demands among others of the organisation. They all differ in their thoughts, means and ends, yet they all subscribe to the proposition that the national elections should be held under a party-neutral election-time government, with the parliament remaining dissolved for the elections and electronic voting machines, which could be made vulnerable to fraudulence, should not be used. But for the ruling party and partners in its coalition on the one side, almost all other political parties, on the other side, have on their own reached a consensus on the holding the general elections under a party-neutral government. 

The polarisation is almost completed. The Awami League-led government in 2011 nullified the provision for a non-party, election-time caretaker government based on a court decision, but the judges in the verdict conceded that two elections, in the near term, might still be under the caretaker administration. The situation has stood the Awami League where it should think of heeding the demands of all other contenders for power for the sound growth of a healthy political culture.

The government of the Awami League, under such circumstances, should give a second thought to the provisions for an election-time, party-neutral government, with the parliament being dissolved, which would hold the next general elections and other demands centring on the elections that others have put forth. A confrontation, otherwise, seems imminent.

• Courtesy: New Age / Oct 15, 2018

DSCC given the short shrift

EDITORIAL

Shouldn't utility service chiefs be accountable?

That most chiefs of utility service-providing organisations choose not to attend coordination meetings called by the Mayor of South City Corporation is just shameful. Not only have they defied a direct order from the Prime Minister's Office, but their repeated refusals to attend the meetings are an insult to the mayor and the public.

The entire purpose of the meetings, as highlighted by the PMO circular, was to bring greater coordination among utility service providers which has been woefully missing to the grave detriment of citizens. The amount of time and resources that has been wasted over the years because of unplanned and uncoordinated construction and repair works, not to mention public money, is simply mindboggling. To take just one example, according to a World Bank report last year, Bangladesh has the highest road construction cost in the world even though its roads were largely substandard. And the main reasons for this, the report said, were poor monitoring by the concerned authorities and the resulting failure to complete projects within the designated timeframes.

In spite of all this, the fact that the chiefs of our utility service-providing organisations have remained so brazenly apathetic is completely unacceptable. What this indicates is that they are, perhaps, more concerned about their own interests, which is why they fail to keep costs down, as cost extensions would make more funds available to go into their own pockets. What else explains their failure to further inform the DSCC about the progress their departments have been making in implementing decisions taken during the meetings?

It is high time to hold the chiefs of these organisations accountable for not attending the meetings, and for any future failures by their organisations to provide high-quality and timely services to people.

• Courtesy: The Daily Star / Oct 15, 2018

India's top court showed the way

Shakhawat Liton

A landmark verdict by the Indian Supreme Court scrapping a section of country's IT law that authorised police to arrest people for posting something "offensive" or "menacing" on social media and many of its previous judgments on the freedom of press offers some food for thought in the current context.

Widespread misuse of powers by police under section 66A of the IT Act 2000 led the Indian SC to strike the draconian provision down three and a half year ago, on grounds that such a law struck at the root of liberty and freedom of expression -- two cardinal pillars of democracy.

The court ruled that such arbitrary powers to arrest people for social media posts was unconstitutional.

According to Indian media reports, section 66A of the law had been widely abused by police over the years in various states to arrest innocent persons for posting critical comments about social and political issues and politicians on social networking sites.

The SC said the section in question upset the balance between right to free speech and the reasonable restrictions that may be imposed on this right.

In Bangladesh, there was almost a similar provision in the ICT Act -- section 57 -- which was widely abused to harass free thinkers and journalists triggering the demand for it to be scrapped.

In making the demand, journalists and rights activists in Bangladesh cited the landmark judgment by the Indian SC.

In the face of widespread criticism, the government has recently repealed the section but kept its contents in several other provisions in the newly-passed Digital Security Act (DSA), giving police even more arbitrary powers.

Take section 43 of the DSA: If a police official believes that an offence under the law has been or is being committed at a certain place, or there is a possibility of committing crimes or destroying evidence, the official can search the place or any person there.

The officer, upon putting in writing the reason for his/her belief, can also seize the computer, computer system, computer network, data and information or other objects that can help prove the crime while conducting a search.

Besides, police can arrest anyone present at the place without any warrant if he or she is suspected of committing or having committed a crime under this law.

The Sampadak Parishad (Editors' Council) is opposing at least nine sections of the DSA, including the section 43, and demanding proper amendments to those provisions. They fear these sections may seriously impede independent journalism and freedom of expression.

In a press conference on Saturday, the Council also referred to the Indian SC's verdict delivered in 2015. 

Calling section 66A of the IT law “open-ended and unconstitutionally vague”, the Indian SC said nothing short of quashing the law “in its entirety” could suffice since the section “arbitrarily, excessively and disproportionately” invaded the right to free speech, right to dissent, right to know, and had a “chilling effect” on constitutional mandates, according to a report published by the Indian Express on March 25, 2015.

The judgment has widely been lauded as it expanded the contours of free speech on the internet.

The verdict not only reaffirmed the unquestionable importance of freedom of speech and expression in a democratic constitution, but also emphasised how a parallel discussion on freedom of the press has been at the core of evolution and expansion of this right.

The judgement discussed and borrowed from a body of judgments by the SC to underscore the indispensability of the free speech and freedom of the press.

It started with the 1950 judgment by the SC in the case of Romesh Thapar verses the state of Madras, where the court stated that freedom of speech lay at the foundation of all democratic organisations.

The second judgment that the SC drew from was Sakal Papers (P) Ltd verses Union of India, 1962 in which the court stressed the importance of the freedom of speech “under a democratic Constitution which envisages changes in the composition of legislatures and governments,” according to the Indian Express report.

The SC also cited the 1973 judgment on the “Bennett Coleman case” to assert that “freedom of speech and of the press is the Ark of the Covenant of Democracy” because public criticism is essential to the working of its institutions.

The individual rights of freedom of speech and expression of editors, directors and shareholders are all expressed through their newspapers, through which they speak, the court said. 

To support the impact and content of freedom of speech, the SC referred to its previous judgment in 1985 in a case relating to Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.

The freedom of press, the apex court had ruled in that case, was the heart of social and political intercourse and its purpose was to advance the public interest by publishing facts and opinions without which a democratic electorate cannot make responsible judgments.

Protection of this right is essential as newspapers, being purveyors of news and views and having a bearing on public administration, very often carry material which would not be palatable to governments and other authorities, it noted.

There are many more judgements pronounced by the Indian SC and the courts in many other countries upholding the freedom of the press.

Now, take some more examples.

The Madras SC in Nakkheeragopal Editor versus State Rep case verdict in September 2001 said if freedom of speech and expression is the foundation on which the edifice of democracy is built up, freedom of press is a corner stone.

"The freedom of press, therefore, is the heart of the social and political intercourse of democratic institution. Hence, it is the primary duty of the Courts to uphold the freedom of the press and invalidate all the laws and the administrative or executive actions which infringes the freedom of press, as cautioned by the Apex Court in Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) P Ltd v. Union of India," it asserted.

A few months earlier in the same year, the Delhi High Court in Shri Surya Khatri versus Madhu Trehan and others case verdict said that freedom of the press has always been regarded as an essential prerequisite of a democratic form of government. It has been regarded as a necessity for mental health and the well being of the society. It is also considered necessary for the full development of the personality of an individual.

"The freedom of press is regarded as the 'mother of all other liberties' in a democratic society," said the court in 2001 verdict.

At a programme in July this year, the immediate past chief justice of India Dipak Misra endorsed that view.

Misra, who retired as CJ just this month, added that the media “should have its own guidelines for self-regulations,” according to a NDTV reports on July 25 this year.

“Freedom of press in a democratic society is the mother of all liberties. There is no doubt it is one of the most cherished and valuable rights guaranteed under the constitution. It includes the right to know and the right to inform,” Misra told the programme organised by the International Law Association. 

In the Indian Express case verdict in 1984, the SC said:  "As long as this Court sits newspapermen need not to have the fear of their freedom being curtailed by unconstitutional means." 

In the verdict the apex court referred to significant remarks made by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India.

In his historic resolution containing the aims and objectives of the Constitution to be enacted by the Constituent Assembly said that the Constitution should guarantee and secure to all the people of India among others freedom of thought and expression.

He also stated elsewhere that "I would rather have a completely free press with all the dangers involved in the wrong use of that freedom than a suppressed or regulated press."

Latest in in January this year, the Indian top court in another landmark verdict made endeavour to protect rights of the media as it recently announced that freedom of speech and expression of the media must be allowed to the fullest and the press may not be hauled up for defamation for “some errors” in its reporting.

In a defamation case, the court clarified the phrase “some errors" by saying: “There could be some error or enthusiasm in reporting an alleged scam. But, we must allow freedom of speech and expression to the press at the fullest. There may be some wrong reporting. For that they need not be hauled up for defamation.”

Now it all depends on us what path we should choose to make efforts for building a democratic society with or without the freedom of press.

• Courtesy: The Daily Star/ Oct 15, 2018

'Ghost Case': 16-yr-old boy in jail

Police arrested a teenage boy along with his father and uncle on September 19 for holding a “secret meeting” at their house in Dinajpur's Birganj upazila to plot subversive activities, but locals say no such meeting took place there. Talking to this newspaper, two of the five people mentioned as witnesses in the case said police didn't tell them that they were made witnesses.

Both of them said they were not present at the scene and were unaware of any “secret meeting” taking place there.

The teenager, Mamun Ur Rashid, who according to his mother is 16 years and three months old, has been languishing in Dinajpur jail since his arrest 26 days ago. However, in the case statement police claimed that he is 19.

Mamun, his father Abdul Majid, 45, and uncle Abdul Latif, 40, were picked up by police from their home in Birganj's Bhogdoma village around 2:45am on September 19, said family members and locals.

In the case statement, Amzad Ali Mondal, sub-inspector of Birganj Police Station, mentioned that 70 to 80 people were holding a “secret meeting” at the compound of Majid's house around 12:30am on September 19 to plot subversive activities.

Police raided the house and arrested Mamun, Majid and Latif while the others managed to flee, he mentioned.

Of the 85 accused in the case, 55 were named. They include the three.

The complainant also claimed to have seized five crude bombs wrapped in a shopping bag and 500 gram gunpowder from Mamun.

But Mamun's family members and villagers have given this newspaper a different version.

Majid's wife Maleka Begum said seven policemen from Birganj cordoned off their house at 2:15am on September 19.

Police entered the house and conducted a search but found nothing. They then arrested Mamun, Majid, Latif, and left around 2.45am.

“My son and husband are innocent,” said Maleka, adding that none of her family members are involved in politics.

Latif's wife Rubina Khatun also gave a similar version.

Their neighbours Azahar Ali and Shamsuzzoha said no “secret meeting” had taken place at Majid's house on that day.

Azahar said, “Truth will come out if an independent probe is carried out.”

This correspondent talked to the first and the fifth witnesses in the case over the phone on Saturday. Both said police didn't tell them that they had been made witnesses in the case.

The two also said they were not at the scene on that day and were unaware of any “secret meeting” taking place there.

The first witness, Amzad Ali, said, “Several locals told me that I have been made a witness in the case.”

The fifth witness, Nur Master, said he was out of Dinajpur on that day.  

He mentioned that police didn't tell him that he had been made a witness in the case.

• Courtesy: The Daily Star /Oct 15, 2018

Dangerous level of water contamination

Editorial

75 million people at risk!

The World Bank unveiled a report titled “Promising Progress: A Diagnostic of Water Supply, Sanitation, Hygiene, and Poverty in Bangladesh” on October 11. It portrays a dismal picture of water quality in the country. Seventy-five million Bangladeshis (nearly half the population) are drinking contaminated water where there is presence of arsenic and E-coli bacteria, depending on the region. Forty-one percent of water supplied has bacteria at source and 13 percent water contains arsenic. As the report points out, “E-coli bacteria was present in 80 percent of private piped-water taps sampled across the country, a similar rate to water retrieved from ponds.”

Needless to say, the comments are less than salutary and we can only imagine the impact of the contamination on people's health. There are certain things that are beyond our control like climate change which is increasing both the frequency and intensity of natural disasters that play havoc with water and sanitation services. We need to move away from dependence on tube wells to piped water which can be monitored and treated. Nearly 95 percent of the rural populace and 70 percent of urban residents depend on tube wells where it is very difficult to monitor water quality. With continued dependence on groundwater comes the challenge of depleting water tables that may be causing arsenic contamination of water supply.

We need to move to piped water supply which will require a major overhaul of existing piped water networks, especially in urban areas. The problem is that illegal connections and frequent pipe breaks also result in contaminated water when sewerage drain water mixes with piped water supply. It is up to policymakers to prioritise the repair and maintenance of piped water systems if we wish to improve on the nutritional disadvantages of early childhood which are linked to poor water quality and sanitation.

• Courtesy: The Daily Star /Oct 14, 2018

In Dhaka, fire safety in a shambles

Editorial

Building code must be enforced

The fire department's recent report paints a grim picture of fire safety in the capital's public and private establishments. A year-long inspection programme carried out by Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence (BFSCD) found that all but a few establishments—hospitals, shopping malls and educational institutions—it inspected were susceptible to disastrous fire incidents. The organisation inspected a total of 2,612 establishments, of which less than a hundred turned out to have satisfactory fire safety measures.

Such frightening statistics explain why the number of fire incidents more than tripled in the last two decades—from 5,376 in 1996 to 18,105 last year—in Dhaka.

In particular, hospitals are in a very vulnerable situation because, as the BFSCD pointed out, a fire in those hospitals could result in colossal damage since they store highly flammable chemicals and oxygen cylinders, which may cause fire to spread quickly. 

According to the fire department's data, unstubbed cigarette butts caused 2,453 fire incidents last year.

And, when it comes to educational institutions, only 18 among 989, which had been inspected, turned out to be safe. It is, therefore, really not an overstatement that “we are sitting on a ticking bomb,” to quote an expert who commented on our story. 

We cannot afford to downplay the findings of the fire department. The solution, in part, lies in enforcing the National Building Code in all public and private establishments because the code also explains what fire safety measures one should take. As for accessible roads, there aren't quick solutions as the entire city is highly congested. However, as the BFSCD recommended, the government may set up “satellite fire stations” in more areas of the city—especially in vulnerable areas like Mirpur, Tejgaon and Savar—so that firemen can reach accident areas quickly. 

• Courtesy: The Daily Star /oct 14, 2018

Law enforcement agencies caught in political influence

Editorial

THE law enforcement agencies coming down heavily on the political opponents of the ruling Awami League during the party’s two consecutive tenures in government since 2009 suggests that the police have been used by the government in breach of the promise of keeping the law enforcement agencies outside political influence that it made in its manifestos before the 2008 and the 2014 election. The government has used the law enforcement agencies to stop political parties, other than those in the ruling coalition, from voicing their concerns. 

The police have also been used in silencing dissenting voice, political or social, that too being expressed in a peaceful manner that is democratic. As the Awami League has failed to keep its promises, the law enforcement agencies keep standing more in conflict with the rule of law and citizen’s rights. In the latest such reported example, the police foiled a procession that the Left Democratic Alliance brought out, early last week of September, demanding free and fair national elections. When the electoral process starts showing signs of weakness, it is only natural that others concerned at such issues would speak up and try to ensure that their concerns are mitigated systematically.

The police are also now reported to have been framing, for some time, opposition leaders and activists some of whom have died and become paralysed or are living abroad in cases filed in connection with incidents reported not to have happened. Most of such cases have been filed since August, gradually increasing in number as days roll by, and ruling Awami League leaders and activists have been named witnesses in many of the cases. This reeks of a government ploy to use the law enforcement agencies to keep opposition leaders and activists at bay before the next general elections scheduled by year-end as much as does this reek of a play of political influence on the law enforcement agencies. 

An increased number of cases, reported to be ‘false and imaginary’ being filed against opposition leaders and activists, as many seek to say, suggest that a situation like this cannot be possible without the influence of people in power on law enforcement. The Awami League’s political rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first week of October claimed 4,149 ‘fictitious’ cases being filed against 86,692 named and more than 276,000 unnamed BNP leaders and activists between September 1 and October 5.

Such a use of the law enforcement agencies, in breach of the Awami League’s election pledges, is disparaging and unacceptable. The situation is also concerning for the state as the government, as the manager of the state, cannot guarantee protection for the citizens, for the government as the incidents only darken the face of law enforcers and tarnish the system that they work within, and for the citizens as they continue to live in a fearful situation. The government must, under the circumstances, meaningfully attend to all the situations and keep law enforcement outside political influence.

• Courtesy: New Age/Oct 14, 2018

অগ্নি নিরাপত্তা নিয়ে কেন এতো উদাসীনতা?

ঢাকার বেশিরভাগ বহুতল ভবনে যথাযথ অগ্নি নির্বাপক ব্যবস্থা না থাকায় যেকোনো মুহূর্তে ভয়াবহ দুর্যোগের আশঙ্কায় রয়েছে নগরবাসী।

বাংলাদেশ ফায়ার সার্ভিস ও সিভিল ডিফেন্স বিভাগ মানুষের নিরাপত্তার দিকটি বিবেচনায় নিয়ে প্রতিটি ভবনে অগ্নি নিরাপত্তার কিছু বিধিমালা নির্ধারণ করে দিলেও তার কোন প্রয়োগ নেই ভবনগুলোতে।

সেটারই প্রতিফলন পাওয়া যায় ফায়ার সার্ভিস ও সিভিল ডিফেন্স বিভাগের সাম্প্রতিক জরিপে।

তারা মূলত ঢাকার জনবহুল ভবন বিশেষ করে হাসপাতাল, শপিং মল ও শিক্ষা প্রতিষ্ঠানসহ দুই হাজার ৬১২টি ভবনের অগ্নি নির্বাপণ ব্যবস্থা খতিয়ে দেখে।

সেখানে মাত্র ৭৪টি ভবন ছাড়া বাকি সবকটি ভবন, অর্থাৎ দুই হাজার ৫৩৮টি ভবন ঝুঁকির মধ্যে রয়েছে বলে জরিপে উঠে আসে।

ঢাকার অভিজাত এলাকা হিসেবে পরিচিত বনানীতে কেনাকাটার জন্য বেশ জনপ্রিয় বনানী সুপার মার্কেট। সরেজমিনে গিয়ে দেখা যায়, ভবনটিতে অগ্নি নিরাপত্তা ব্যবস্থা বলে প্রায় কিছুই নেই।

প্রতি তলায় একটি করে মাত্র ফায়ার এক্সটিংগুইশার। তাও সেটা একেক তলায় একেক স্থানে রাখা হয়েছে। যেটা অনেক সময়ই চোখেই পড়েনা।

মার্কেটের নিরাপত্তার দায়িত্বে থাকা মোহাম্মদ জসিম দুটি অগ্নি বহির্গমন বা ইমার্জেন্সি এক্সিট সিঁড়ি দেখিয়ে দেন।

কিন্তু এই সিঁড়ির জন্য কোন পথ ধরে যেতে হবে সেটা নিয়ে কোথাও কোন নির্দেশনা নেই।

এছাড়া সিলিংয়ে বৈদ্যুতিক তারগুলোকে এমন খোলা ও বিক্ষিপ্ত অবস্থায় দেখা যে যেকোনো সময় বড় ধরণের দুর্ঘটনা ঘটা কোন অস্বাভাবিক ব্যাপার নয়।

এক্ষেত্রে এই ভবনটিতে যদি আগুন লাগে তাহলে নিরাপত্তার উপায় কি?

এ বিষয়ে জানতে কথা বলেছিলাম মার্কেটটির সিকিউরিটি সুপারভাইজার মোহাম্মদ জসিমের সঙ্গে।

তিনি জানান যে, ভবনে আগুন লাগলে কি করতে হবে সে বিষয়ে ফায়ার সার্ভিসের পক্ষ থেকে প্রাথমিক কিছু প্রশিক্ষণ পেয়েছেন তারা।

আগুন ধরতে দেখলেই তিনিসহ নিরাপত্তার দায়িত্বে থাকা সবাই বাঁশি বাজিয়ে মানুষকে সতর্ক করেন এবং ফায়ার এক্সটিংগুইশার দিয়ে আগুন নেভান।

কিন্তু এতো বিশাল পরিধির একটি মার্কেটে এতো সীমিত ফায়ার এক্সটিংগুইশার কি যথেষ্ট?

তাছাড়া ভবনের কেন্দ্রীয় সতর্কতা অ্যালার্মটি রয়েছে ছাদের কাছে। তাই ওপরের কোন তলায় আগুন ধরলে অ্যালার্ম বাজানো হবে কিভাবে?

এমন প্রশ্নের জবাবে মিস্টার জসীম বলেন, তাদের চেষ্টা থাকে যা আছে সেটা দিয়েই পরিস্থিতি সামাল দেয়া।

তারসঙ্গে কথা বলার মধ্যেই ভবনের অগ্নি নিরাপত্তার বিষয়ে বিস্তারিত জানাতে এগিয়ে আসেন বনানী সুপার মার্কেটের ব্যবস্থাপক গাজী মতিউর রহমান।

এতো জনপ্রিয়তা সত্ত্বেও ভবনের এই বেহাল দশা কেন? এমন প্রশ্নের জবাবে তিনি বলেন,

"এই স্থানটিতে একটি বহুতল ভবন নির্মাণের বিষয়ে কথাবার্তা চলছে। এজন্য সিটি কর্পোরেশন, মার্কেট কর্তৃপক্ষসহ তিনটি পক্ষ কাজ করছে। মার্কেটটি এখনও নির্মাণাধীন, তাই কিছু সমস্যা রয়ে গেছে"

কিন্তু এই সময়ের মধ্যে যদি কখনও আগুন লাগে তাহলে সেটা মানুষের জন্য বেশ ঝুঁকিপূর্ণ হতে পারে বলে তিনি স্বীকার করেন।

একই চিত্র ঢাকার প্রায় বেশিরভাগ ভবনের। ঢাকায় অগ্নি নিরাপত্তার বিষয়টি কেন এতো উপেক্ষিত?

এ বিষয়ে দুর্যোগ ব্যবস্থাপনা ইন্সটিটিউটের শামীমা প্রধান বলেন, "যখন আমরা কোন ভবন নির্মাণ করি, তখন আমরা এই অগ্নি নিরাপত্তার বিষয়টিকে আমলে নেই না। এটা আমাদের প্র্যাকটিসের সমস্যা। আমাদের সচেতনতা না থাকার সমস্যা। কোন ভয়াবহ অভিজ্ঞতা যতক্ষণ না কারও জীবনে ঘটছে, তার আগ পর্যন্ত কেউ সচেতন ভূমিকা রাখছেন না।"

ঢাকার নতুন ভবন নির্মাণের ক্ষেত্রে সেইসঙ্গে পুরানো ভবনগুলোয় অগ্নি নির্বাপণ ব্যবস্থার আধুনিকায়ন না করলে যেকোনো মুহূর্তে ঢাকা ভয়াবহ বিপদের মুখে পড়তে পারে বলে উদ্বেগ জানিয়েছেন বাংলাদেশ ফায়ার সার্ভিস ও সিভিল ডিফেন্স বিভাগের মহা পরিচালক বিগ্রেডিয়ার জেনারেল আলী আহমেদ।

এ ব্যাপারে যথাযথ ব্যবস্থা গ্রহণের কথাও জানান তিনি।

জেনারেল আলী আহমেদ বলেন, "বাংলাদেশে একটা সংস্কৃতি আছে যে কোন বড় ধরণের দুর্যোগ না হলে সচেতনতা সৃষ্টি হয়না। ঢাকা শহরের বেশিরভাগ ভবন, বিশেষ করে পুরানো ভবনগুলোর অবস্থা বেশ ঝুঁকিপূর্ণ।"

"আমরা এই বিষয়গুলোকে আইনের আওতায় এনেছি। মোবাইল কোর্ট করেছি। পেনাল্টিও দিয়েছি। অনেক ভবন কর্তৃপক্ষ আমাদের কাছে সময় চেয়েছে। আমরাও তাদের সময় বেঁধে দিয়ে চাপে রেখেছি। "

তবে এ ব্যাপারে ভবন মালিকদের পাশাপাশি সাধারণ পর্যায়ে প্রতিটি মানুষকে যার যার নিরাপত্তার ব্যাপারে সচেতন হওয়ার পরামর্শ দিয়েছেন জেনারেল আলী আহমেদ।

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