Combating Fire
It is shocking to find out
that most shopping malls in
Dhaka do not have proper fire
safety measures. Since shops
are now closed after 7:00
p.m., they are generally more
crowded than ever during the
closing hours. So, what if
there is a fire at a mall
during such a rush? I fear
that loss of lives and properties
are likely to be very high.
The malls, therefore, must
have enough fire fighting
equipment and trained officers
to deal with fire incidents.
Md. Rafiqul Islam,
by email
I am shocked to read in your
magazine that REHAB can take
no action against its members
who violate construction rules.
The President of REHAB says
the association's objective
is to protect the interest
of its members. But if because
of negligence of one its members
an accident happens then the
image of the entire association
will suffer. Unless the association
takes punitive measures against
those of its members that
violate rules, it will lose
any moral authority to convince
the government to take up
policies for expansion of
the sector. In other words,
it will fail to protect the
very interest of its members
if it cannot discipline them.
Shahadat Hossain Topu,
Mirpur, Dhaka
Your report suggests the third
main cause of fire accidents
is un-extinguished cigarettes.
This is an alarming finding
and in this regard I welcome
the recent drives against
smoking in public places.
Such an effort, I believe,
will reduce not only health
hazards from smoking but also
the number of fire accidents
in public places due to un-extinçuished
cigarettes. But in Bangladesh,
cigarette consumption continues
to grow, which means, the
drives will push more and
more smokers to light up their
cigarettes in private establishments.
As a result, the threat of
fire from cigarettes will
continue to remain unless
we also take some measures
in private establishments.
One suggestion could be that
every office have a smoking
room which should be well
ventilated and fire protected.
Nilufar Yasmin, Malibagh,
Dhaka
When a structure is burnt
to ashes, we often blame fire
fighters for not being able
to contain the fire. But the
reality is, in Bangladesh
fire fighters have been very
brave in their rescue operations.
What they lack is proper fire
fighting equipment and availability
of water sources in the area
near the fire incident. Moreover,
they are obstructed by heavy
traffic on their way and people
interfering in their work.
These factors are beyond the
control of firefighters in
Bangladesh. The government
has to ensure that firefighters
have enough resources to fight
fire with, the city corporation
has to ensure quick passages
for firefighters to reach
their destination and install
more water tanks in the city
and the public has to be more
understanding and allow fire
fighters to do their job.
They should not gather at
the scene of fire, which can
make rescue operations very
difficult.
Riffat Hossain, Banani
Young Executives
Your report on young executives
is a good initiative. I think
young executives are often
regarded as those who are
motivated by money only and
who have no other passion
than adding value to the corporation.
Your feature highlights the
other side of their lives-some
of them are passionately engaged
in a number of activities.
It not only gives a fresh
perspective on young executives,
but also encourages them to
pursue some of their goals
that are beyond the perimeter
of their corporations.
Zerin T. Khan, by email
Ahmoda Begum's story about
her passion for sports is
very encouraging. She is a
woman executive and a mother
and she is actively involved
in sports-such a combination
is hard to find in a country
where sports have traditionally
been regarded as an activity
for boys and men. She is indeed
an inspiration for a modern
Bangladesh.
Razeeb H. Chowdhury,
Uttara
Human Resources
I like Ahmed Ruhul Shaki's
enthusiasm about portraying
HR as a critical function
of a corporation. No doubt
a company's main strategic
resources are its people.
And it is the job of the HR
to nurture such resources.
Unfortunately, HR still struggles
to get the attention of the
management, simply because
it is not directly involved
in increasing the bottom-line
of the corporation. Given
the poor image of HR, many
corporations in fact fail
to hire best talents for their
HR departments. As a result,
HR professionals also fail
to gain due respect from their
colleagues in other departments.
Top managements have to realize
that if the company wants
to remain competitive, it
must have a proactive HR.
Jahirul Islam Shumon,
by email
Corrigendum:
In the feature "Personal
Car Loan Scheme" published
in April 2004 it was inadvertently
reported that HSBC provides
car loans ranging from Taka
100, 000 to Taka 8,000,000,
with an interest rate of 13%
p.a. and 1% processing fee.
The actual car loan provided
by HSBC ranges from Taka 100,000
to Taka 2,000,000, with an
interest rate of 16% p.a.
and 1% processing fee. ET
regrets the errors.
The report "Auto Show
2007" published in April
2004 inadvertently contained
spelling mistakes of two names
of Proton Models- "Waza",
which should be spelled as
"Waja" and "Xen-2",
which should be spelled as
"Gen-2". ET regrets
the spelling mistakes.
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