Four days have passed after the Savar disaster. Though it happened in Dhaka, this is a national tragedy. People have not yet come out of the shock and gloom. The number of casualty is not yet certain. It was feared the death toll might cross a thousand or more. Not only the loss of life but the financial loss caused by this disaster may affect the country seriously.

Most of the dead or injured people were mainly female garment workers. The aftermath of this disaster will have a dire impact on our political, social and economic life. It is a great challenge for both the government and the country. Already the garments factories are closed, because the workers are agitated. If this closure continues then a big portion of our earning from foreign exchange will be lost and we may lose our foreign markets which is one of the biggest earning sources of the country.

After the disaster the garment workers most of whom are females, came out on the street and demonstrated their anger and grief by resorting to street violence. There are ample reasons for their angst because for a long time these workers have been facing disaster after disaster, tragedy after tragedy not for any other reasons but merely for lack of measures to ensure their safety and other essential provisions.

Very recently a garments factory Tajreen was gutted and 113 female workers were burnt alive. It was alleged that there were no minimum safety arrangements for the workers, not even adequate fire prevention arrangements were in place. The owner of the factory was not tried or punished. There was a so-called inquiry and an officer in his inquiry report said that this arson was a subversive act. Nobody gave a damn to the death of more than one hundred unfortunate female workers. Their families were devastated and it was also a national tragedy.

In 2005 a similar disaster struck Bangladesh. The building of Spectrum, a garments factory collapsed suddenly like Savar's Rana Plaza. More than 65 workers were killed. At that time at least the owner who was the son-in-law of a prominent BNP MP, was arrested and made to pay compensation to the bereaved families. But apart from that I do not know of any other example where those who were directly or indirectly responsible for this type of mass killing have ever been punished.

Now it was reported that the Rana Plaza of Savar which collapsed on Wednesday had serious structural defects. The foundation of this building was for a five storey building, but the owner built nine floors in the plaza. It had five garments factories and numerous offices including banks. They were warned by experts a day before the disaster that the building has developed a serious crack and people should be evacuating it immediately. The warning was ignored and the next day thousands of people were allowed to enter the office for their work and the disaster struck.

Now who is responsible for this tragedy? God or man? The only answer is - man. This is a man-made disaster and after a proper inquiry those who are responsible must be tried and punished. This is no lesser crime than that of the war criminals. This second category criminals are responsible for killing hundreds and sometimes thousands of people only for their greed.

The owner of the Rana Plaza is also the owner of another building- Rana Tower. It was reported that the tower has also developed cracks. The owner of this plaza and tower is now absconding. After the disaster he was mobbed by the factory workers and rescued from the wrath of the people by the local MP. Though he is associated with the ruling party he should not get the chance to escape an inquiry and trial.

Government should take extraordinary measures to check the condition of other buildings especially which house garments factories and impose proper regulations so that the owners of the factories make immediate provision for the health and safety of their workers. If it is found that the responsibilities lie with the owners for the collapse of Rana Plaza then he or they should be compelled to pay compensation to the families of the killed and injured people.

The government's problem in this election year will be that many owners of the garments industry are in important positions in parliament, media and business. So government may tend to be lenient with them. It is not the real situation in the country. Government should give more importance to the welfare and safety of these workers. They now also constitute a very large electoral constituency ; their welfare should have priority with the government.

The anger and grief which was created among the working class will not help Awami League government to get people's support in the next election if it is not mitigated. The BNP and Jamaat axis may try to exploit this disaster to achieve their political motive. Government should do everything in their power not only for rescue work but also ensure the proper treatment of the numerous injured persons and rehabilitate the destitute families. It is a good sign that the people from Dhaka and the surrounding areas rushed to the scene to donate blood, and to aid the rescue work.

They came out in thousands and did not wait for the call of anybody. The Shahbagh square became a centre for donation of blood. With this huge mass support government can and should minimize the effect of this national tragedy.

Nobody should take this tragedy lightly as they ignored the previous ones. We should remember that one of the reasons of the collapse of the mighty Soviet empire was their inability to handle the tragedy of Cheronbill? Even that mighty power had no necessary ordinary instruments (e.g. Hammer, shovels etc.) to use in the rescue work.

Likewise in the Savar tragedy in Bangladesh the rescue workers were found short of torch lights, water carriers, shovels etc. The rescue authority appealed to the public to donate these things. Public are responding to the call without delay.

It is a wonder that our home minister Dr. Mohiuddin Alamgir failed to understand the gravity of the situation and made some comments so lightly that people are angered at home and abroad.

He said that during their hartal Jamaat and BNP workers tried to push down the pillars of Rana Plaza and the disaster is the outcome of that subversion. His comments got wide publicity. If it is true then I have great doubt not only about his wisdom but his common sense also. This type of comment was not expected from a man who belongs to our high ranking elite class.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is now fighting many battles in many fronts. Now this disaster will add a new front which has created a bigger challenge for the government. It needs Prime Minister's personal attention. Government declared a national mourning day on last Thursday. But that is not enough. Government should prove by their actions that they have the courage and ability to face the calamity and can prevent a similar recurrence in the future