The line between life and death

JUST a few days back a photograph of Habibur, a Power Development Board employee, was on the cover of The Daily Star. His body was lifeless, hanging from the electricity pole near Bakalia Fultala Canal in Chittagong city. No safety gears were seen on him and the live wires caused this untimely death of Habibur as the city underneath went about their daily activities.

One of the mission statements of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) states" to follow international standards and adopt modern technology and practices in power generation activities." However, Habibur's death, does not show the following of any modern practices or standards and the absence of safety gears is a prime proof of that.

Also by international standards, protocols for power development board employees while at work place should be taught as second nature. Information and training on rights as a power development employee should also be of high priority. Staring at the disheartening photograph of Habibur, whose face and body was blurred in the image in the Daily Star as it could cause trauma to the readers, doubts remain about BPDB's implementation of compliance with employees' rights to training and minimum safety standards.

Another mission statement of BPDB reads "To reach self-sufficiency by increasing of its income and reduction of expenditure through efficiency improvement and diversification of activities." If increasing efficiency and reduction of expenditure translates to sending out BPDB workers without safety gears we suggest it is time BPDB revises its mission and vision statements, not just on paper but in practice. Until BPDB does that, we fear more unnecessary losses and sacrifices while trying to provide us the comfort of electricity.