Highway hemorrhage
We would talk volubly about road accidents and deaths, only after they have come about. It is an exasperating ritual we are deeply involved in. Following every accidental death the onrush of commiseration stuffed with age-old phrases has become a pattern. To some, soft words of sympathy now sound like expletives. We promise a thorough query and exemplary punishment to the killer drivers, which we invariably renege on.
We have gone through such a massive metamorphosis that we stand immune to any force of wind or flame. Nothing touches us; we are not moved by road accidents or launch capsize and the tragic deaths, as though these are only to be expected.
The communications minister believes that there is no reason for him to resign. He thinks the inter-district roads are not that appalling as the transport owners and operators would like us to believe. If BRTC buses can ply on these motorways why can't the private buses? The minister for ports and shipping thinks even a skilled driver can cause an accident.
We have been, in a barefaced manner, collecting data on the annual death rates provided by local or foreign sources. We know that every year nearly 4,000 people die in around 20,000 road crashes across the country. Not only deaths, the mishaps also cause permanent disability to thousands. Our highways are now a virtual deathtrap.
Why did Tareque, Mishuk and three others in the team have to meet such a tragic death if it were not to stir the conscience of those who have been negligent of maintaining road safety standards?
Who were these two? Tareque Masud was a meticulous soul, a true patriot. I knew him for the last twenty five years. I knew him when he was young and had just started his career in film making. I knew his intense love for the country and people. With the passage of time he grew up into a matured thinker and gifted us with films that many of us would never think of. He had reached the global stage. He evolved from a modest learning process to a progressive individual.
When I learnt about his end, fond memories of the younger days came floating by. We had spent many hours together in the corners of the Goethe Institute (then at Road 2, Dhanmondi). Those were great times. The institute premise would be overflowing with the best of minds of the country. Goethe Institute was the Mecca of litterateurs, dramatists, theatre activists, musicians, artists, film makers and other creative persons. Tareque was always a part of our creative meet where the legends would also make their presence.
Mishuk Munier, the magician with camera, a laborious newsman and a born leader, left us at time when he had just taken up his second spell in Bangladesh media. He told me about his plans and what he would do next on the ATN news. We had a long chat on TV programmes that the ATN news channel would like to experiment with. He was supposed to work on my progamme proposal that I left with him. My chance to work with him is gone. The likes of Munier and Tareque make life purposeful for others as they themselves were men with lofty goals to soothe the souls of fellow beings.
Tareque - Munier combine would have brought about a steady revolution in Bangladesh cinema and media. Not only did they left us hurriedly, they also left the film world in a state of blankness.
We shall talk a lot more about their deaths. We shall lament their losses. Tributes will keep pouring in from all corners. People will observe death anniversaries with ritualistic speeches. Tareque and Munier will find their places in small frames hanging against the walls. They will remain there as motionless portraits. It's only if they have passed on the baton to the taught then they will have multiplier effect. For this to happen, their works should be anthologised, retrospectives made and books published on them to perpetuate their professional legacies.
Human and technical factors behind accidents are largely avoidable. Accidents may happen, but the frequency and the avoidability of it all make a very poor reading of our governance ability.
Isn't it time the whole nation stood up in unison to compel the authorities to stop the licensed murderers out to kill fellow-beings? Every death is a loss, who will make up for the losses? We are truly tired of counting corpses on the highways.
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