Dhaka turns into a deadly city

Capital Dhaka has become a ‘deadly’ city due to unplanned, indiscriminate and illegal underground installation of gas pipe lines. Despite repeated efforts, explosions have been taking place one after another across the city and its adjacent cities like Gazipur and Narayanganj for the past few days.  

Gas pipeline leakage is causing frequent explosion in the city. When gas accumulates at the ground floor or the basement of the buildings, it explodes.   

There is no adequate security in the business establishments, educational institutions, houses and other infrastructures to prevent explosion. If a strong earthquake jolts the city, many people will meet tragic end of their lives as there is no mapping of gas lines underground alongside sewerage and electricity.

Titas will have to take up a massive 

project to overhaul its age-old gas

 pipelines in capital Dhaka and 

its adjacent districts

Experts at seminar, symposium and workshop several times discussed the issue and suggested coordination among the utility service providers to this end. But, apparently no effective measure has taken yet to address the issue.

Apart from the huge explosions in a building in Science lab, at a private oxygen plant following in Kadam Rasul (Keshabpur) area of Sitakunda upazila in Chattogram and Gulistan, a huge explosion killed at many people and injured several others in Moghbazar in 2021. Besides, leakage in the Titas pipeline at a mosque in Fatullah led to the explosions in six air conditioners leaving at least 27 people killed and over a dozen injured during Friday prayers in 2020.

Most of Titas’s pipeline network is very old and in many areas, Hence, Titas will have to take up a massive project to overhaul its age-old gas pipelines in capital Dhaka and its adjacent districts to minimise risks of accidents. Besides, the authorities concerned will have to map out in detail to know about the real situation of these lines coming in, and out of buildings in Dhaka.