Infrastructural damage and destruction

No movement in independent Bangladesh's history has ever been as costly as the one of quota reform both in terms of loss of life and damage to and destruction of property. While the lives of those dead cannot be given back, the colossal devastation may be recovered someday but not before it exacts a heavy price. Arson and plunder went simultaneously with mindless damage and destruction of public property and infrastructure. For a few days rationality became a casualty and insanity took over. It is bewildering to connect between protests against quota policy and the following violence that erupted like a volcano and escalated into extensive attacks on public property. While the government buildings like Setu Bhaban, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) building, Bangladesh Television building, disaster management building and the building of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) came under the wrath of the agitators, iconic infrastructure such as the stations of metro rail and recently established toll plazas on the elevated expressway also were not spared.

The question is, why were the metro-rail stations and DGHS building targeted for such attacks? Even fire fighting vehicles on way to extinguishing fires in some of the government buildings were damaged and set on fire. This is unprecedented and certainly unwarranted. Who orchestrated such sinister attacks in so many places? The coordinators of quota protests have categorically denied their role in such acts of sabotage. They have gone a step further to announce that their movement is apolitical and they would not allow their movement to be used politically by any party. Popular concept is unlikely to disagree with this statement. But an issue of this order which has tremendous bearing on law and order as well as economy and various public services need a proof. In this modern age, close-circuit cameras are there on the roads. Even if those installed in the buildings are burnt down, those on the roads will help identify the culprits.

Sure enough, the damage and destruction wrought are unlikely to be an act committed on the spur of the moment. Some employees narrated how looters from Kuril slum entered the Setu Bhaban to plunder parts of vehicles, computers, laptops, television and articles of furniture from the building. Yet slum people were unlikely to be the orchestrators of looting, colossal damage, destruction and arson. Elements other than them and, maybe, protesting students infiltrated the ranks of protestors to fish in the muddy waters.

A judicial enquiry commission has been formed to look into the killings that took place during the violent protest. More such commissions would be needed to get at the bottom of violent events that unfolded and caused infrastructural mayhem. The loss sustained by the BTV as a result of the attacks and plunder is estimated at Tk4.0 billion. The financial haemorrhage on account of the devastation to all the buildings will be highly painful but the intangible losses will be many times over. Bangladesh will take many years to recover from the tangible damage but the trauma will continue to haunt it forever.