Another work of neglect, another building collapse, hundreds of death and another sin. Yes, as a nation, we feel that we have sinned. We have neglected our duty to prevent deaths of our own people: inside the buildings, on the roads and on the waterways.

The latest example of our own neglect are the bodies under Rana Plaza in Savar. Eyewitnesses on the spot say the number of dead victims may cross 700. We pray that doesn’t happen.

The crumbles such as this are not new in our beloved motherland. Buildings have come down in Dhaka’s Tejgaon, Old Town, Kanthhalbagan areas. A flyover had fell in Chittagong. The collapse of Spectrum Garment is still afresh in our memory. These had also killed many humans.

One outraging aspect is that these building didn’t fell due to any natural calamity; no lightning struck them, no quake shook them, they weren’t even ageold structures. But they still came down. If expert assessments are any indicator, these buildings fell due to faults in construction, due to the lack of honesty in using proper building materials and codes. The builders of these buildings had resorted to corruption with the help of some extremely corrupt officials. The process of building Rana Plaza was also built in a similar fashion.

The sad and unfortunate part for the people of this country is that no proper measures were taken against the persons who were responsible behind these tragedies. The government, as usual, always says that it would take actions, but actions never happen. The investigations and subsequent legal measures stop as soon as the bereaved crowd move away from the spots. And we wait for another collapse to kill humans.

The home minister has said the this time there would be real investigation and proper actions. Let’s hope he means what he says.

Meanwhile, question arises: as citizens of a 42-year-old nation, how responsible are we? When cracks appeared in Rana Plaza on Tuesday, the authorities asked everyone to evacuate the building. The Brac Bank has done the right thing by listening to the official direction. But others didn’t; the garment factory owner didn’t give a damn about it. His employees were compelled to continue working there. And if you look at the history of this building, the owner is surely at fault.

It’s not fathomable as to why we are not reacting and taking safety measures while erecting buildings. Are we as dishonest as not follow proper building codes and use proper construction materials? And when a building comes down, we are not even prepared for the rescue operation. We don’t have any equipment to save lives from under the rubbles. God only knows what would happen when an earthquake strike here.

We have announced a national mourning for the victims. But what’s the use of mourning for them when they would still be alive if we didn’t neglect while erecting the building and listening officials’ instruction to evacuate?

We hope the government would pursue the Rana Plaza case earnestly. We don’t want to see our neighbours die, we don’t want to see our countrymen die, we don’t want to die for somebody else’s neglect and fault. Not any more.