(Not) taking lessons from catastrophes
At least 67 lives have been lost in the devastating inferno in Chawkbazar. The tragedy occurred due to a gas cylinder burst but spread swiftly because the area was full of inflammable materials and chemicals. The incident, similar to the Nimtali tragedy in 2010, highlights two pressing hazards to public safety.
In the last months, there have been numerous incidents involving gas cylinders. It's time we seriously regulated their private use. The other is the storage of dangerous chemicals that are susceptible to combustion.
After the Nimtali tragedy, promises were made by the authorities that highly congested areas wouldn't be allowed to store inflammable materials. The Chawkbazar tragedy shows that they failed to live up to their promise.
Ibrahim Ullah, Lakshmipur
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