End of Dhaka Sheraton

It seems that Starwood, the partner company running the Sheraton, is finally going to exit. There may be plenty of contractual issues around the renewing of the deal which I do not know. However one of the sticking points was the renovation of the hotel which BSL, the government owned shareholder, was against because the hotel is 'making a profit'. What nonsense and further proof fo BD governments lack of ability.

Even when this hurdle was overcome BSL wanted to be able to appoint the contractors for the works. Hahaha - 'our sonar people would like to tender and choose the contractors for the works so we can fiddle and get bribes and kickbacks'. I assume Starwood has enough experience of the neurotic corruption at every level in BD from the last 25 years experience in the country that they said - 'get lost'!

It's a shame really because the current psycho in charge of the country might make the future contract more 'managed by BSL' instead of the partner company.

I don't mind if BSL owned it 100% or was totally in charge of running it - if we knew for sure the BD guys would not be so politically chosen and in any case the certainty of absolute corruption from the gardener to the GM. Maybe in another 150 years (after a Tsunami has wiped away the population)?

Bangladeshi buildings - deaths traps (fires and sudden collapses)

As you know by now the unfortunate incident of building blazes in Nimtoli, Dhaka.

We in Bangladesh are very lucky that such incidences are relatively rare considering the sheer unplanned nature of the whole country.

We have so many things going against us.
1. Road widths and the ever encroachment of the roads. The roads in Nimtoli, if you've ever been here, are in some parts so ridiculously narrow that rickshaws could have trouble. How are fire engines supposed to get to them?

2. Grills hinder any form of escape. In Bangladesh the fear of criminals makes all building owners turn their property into a modern prison with iron grills on all windows. This blocks any form of exit. Why do we need them above say 3 stories? Why do we need them at all? Instead of solving the crime problem we instead live with it and decide to solve the threat.

3. Overhead electricity. If as it is suggested that it was due to a transformer blowing up - then again there is no planning as to the location of theses transformers. Just place them on stilts - sometimes within arms reach of a building facade.

4. Zoning of commercial, industrial, residential properties. Apparently chemicals and other commerical substances in some buildings helped intensify the fire. This is my main bugbear. You can hear the media and the bangla masses blame the government - they should do something about the causes of fire. Well simple planning rules were demanded and enforced by civilized people of civilized nations over a century ago in other parts of the world. Here in BD we lay the blame solely on the government. Why don't the people demand proper zoning of buildings? and enforce them - themselves? Do they complain when someone rents the ground floor out as a shop? No - because they are doing the same. Bloody hypocrites.

We also had the building collapse the other day. The tilting buildings in Begunbari are now being demolished. Other's without approved plans will be demolished. What really will happen is that those unplanned building owners will now be spending five times as much in bribes to get their plans approved. Making those in the planning department even more fat and the whole story will be forgotten about.

So now there is a drive to make sure unsafe buildings are safe. The very concept of a building in Bangladesh is unsafe - it's clad in metal bars on all sides with a dodgy road that fire engines cannot get to. Together with a shop or some kind of commercial outfit usually on the ground floor. Not to forget the eyesore of a transformer on stilts outside the building - that's probably had a truck reverse into it so its leaning to the side a bit.

Of course they should do something about it. They being the government. Nothing for us, the public, to do is there?!

Digital Airport

I'm on a role today...

Hope everyone likes the new name for Dhaka airport! Hazrat Shahjalal is associated with Sylhet so if Sylhet airport was renamed to that then it would make sense. Why you would want to is another question!

At least it wasn't renamed to BongoBhondu airport - probably because the BongoBhondu sign writers have got an order book to last the next decade taking into account the number of things that have been renamed.

Clearly this is another step to modernising the country as the impoverished country really needed a name change to help its 180 million people!!!

WTF don't we just rename the country as BongoBhonduDesh?!

Good job the IATA (DAC) and ICAO (VGZR) codes were fixed and don't have any influence by our ruling elite (haha elite?! really?)!

I'm calling it Dhaka airport from now on....