Total disregard for pedestrians
Placement of all sorts of construction materials on a side of Road 17 (Block D) in the capital's Banani Model Town is merely another example of blatant encroachment of public spaces in the city. We have been covering this issue over the years about how roads and pavements have been taken over illicitly by both small businesses and construction companies, but to no avail. It is quite pathetic to see this city of more than 16 million, which already suffers from adequate footpaths to begin with, is now having to contend with encroachment such as this for weeks and months on end.
Where are the authorities in all this? Last time we checked, there exists such a thing called the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC), formulated as early as in 1993, which was ultimately passed into law in November 2006. The code is supposed to be mandatory for all concerned to be followed and enforced by authorities. Yet, as we see by the picture published in this paper on March 22, the incident on Road 17 is just one example of total disregard for pedestrian safety and obstruction of traffic.
While the code lays down safety precautions both for construction and demolition of buildings, there must be, and we quote, "protective scaffolding is a must at any building construction site for safety of the pedestrians, passers-by and neighbouring houses." What about safety of pedestrians who may come into contact with the sharp end of rods and other building materials that are left haphazardly on the road in the evenings? And who takes the blame should an unaware passerby fall into the dug up earth at the place of construction, particularly in hours of darkness when the area is not properly lit? We hope that the Public Works ministry will take heed of the law, and enforce it in public interest.
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