What price are we paying for ‘progress’?

Abul Kalam Azad did not die in an accident -- he was killed. Killed by a state that claims progress without responsibility, by contractors who take shortcuts, by regulators who look the other way, and by politicians who celebrate "development".

His death was not a random tragedy; it was a consequence waiting to happen.

On Sunday afternoon at Farmgate, a 140kg bearing pad from the metro rail viaduct fell loose and struck him on the neck. Azad was 35, a father of two, and the sole provider for his family. His widow, Irene Akhter Priya, called it "murder". She was right. His brother asked, "What will this Tk 5 lakh (compensation) do? This can never bring back a human life." He was right too.

And we have lived this tragedy before.

On August 15, 2022, in Uttara, a girder from the Bus Rapid Transit project fell from a crane, crushing a car and killing five members of a family. They were not walking the streets with their heads exposed like Azad, yet they still lost their lives.

On May 30, 2022, in Mirpur's Pallabi, a 49-year-old jeweller, Mahbubur Rahman Talukder, was killed when bricks from a metro rail station wall rained down on him.

Each time, the state's response has been the same: a committee, a cheque, and a show of concern. Then, silence. Until the next murder.

We know these are not accidents. A girder does not fall by accident. A bearing pad does not snap off by chance. Bricks do not fall out of the blue. They fall because safety is ignored, because rules are neglected, because lives are treated as expendable. In this country, negligence has become routine.

The government hails these projects as symbols of progress. Sure they provide citizens with comfort and convenience. But at what cost? Because even one life is one too many, which is something that does not seem to sink in despite repeated deaths.

There is a way to measure a nation: stand on a busy footpath at dusk and watch people making their way home. If the state has done its job, they reach home safely. If the state has failed, you hear sirens and witness lives lost to hazards that could have been secured, inspected, and prevented.

When you fail to ensure that, there is a cost to turning a blind eye—and we can count it in names.

Forming committees for those names will not deliver justice. Cheques will not bring back fathers. Stop hiding behind inquiries. Stop throwing money at coffins.