(Un) smart security of the PM

By Zakir Shahin Khilkhet, Namapara, Dhaka
29 June 2005, 18:00 PM
The lady was screaming at the peak of her voice. She was also trying to negotiate the man-high concrete road divider on the airport road near Nikunjo. Hundreds of vehicles were rushing by, just a couple of inches from her. Hundreds of people were standing by helplessly, hear her screaming. It was simply crazy and suicidal for her to attempt to cross the double-lane highway that is divided by high concrete dividers. And normally she would not be able to cross it. Just few meters from her were a pedestrian over-bridges.

Why then did she take such a foolhardy action that brought her only a few seconds from death? She was forced to undertake the extremely hazardous procedure of crossing the road that way instead of using the over-bridge, by those employed to oversee the PM's security. Although she bore an ID card of a leading national English daily, the security force didn't care. She was forced to place herself in the death trap because the PM was to come by alongside the footpath. It was an excellent idea that she would distribute Khichuri (or Biriani) among the poor and the poor would pray to Allah for the peace of the soul of our late president Ziaur Rahman. But was it really impossible for the PM's security to keep free the over-bridge, which is the only way within miles to move between Nikunjo and Khilkhet, for the pedestrians? Why the PM's security is not smart enough to make a comprehensive security plan?