Two committees formed to investigate the landslides and collapse of a Bangladesh Railway (BR) wall at Pahartali submitted their reports to the Chittagong divisional commissioner yesterday in which they also pointed out growth of illegal slums as another cause behind the tragedy.

The two committees headed by Additional Divisional Commissioner (revenue) MAN Siddique submitted a number of recommendations to the government, including preparing a national hill management policy.

A six-member committee formed to probe the landslides blamed Chittagong City Corporation (CCC), Department of Environment (DoE), Department of Forest and Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) for their failure to take effective measures to check massive hill cutting.

The probe bodies observed that these organisations and others concerned could not take effective measures in this regard since some of their officials had always been involved with the activity directly or indirectly.

Chittagong Divisional Commissioner Mokhlesur Rahman said, "The probe reports will be sent to the chief adviser, communications adviser and the cabinet division through special messengers by tonight [Sunday]."

He urged all government and non-government organisations and departments to come forward to make the Port City an eco-friendly zone by helping implement the recommendations made in the reports.

The committees were formed on June 14 but could not start their field level work before June 16 because of their involvement in disaster management and relief work.

LANDSLIDE PROBE
The committee that probed landslides in Chittagong city and adjoining areas identified 28 reasons behind the deadly incidents that left 115 people dead. It made a 36-point recommendation for avoiding such disaster in future.

The investigation report said in soil tests the committee found that the upper parts of the hills in the region are not compact while the surface soil is mostly sandy and soft and cut indiscriminately. As a result, excessive rainfall washed out huge chunks of soil from the upper parts and caused the landslides.

Due to the absence of policy guidelines on hill management, government organisations like the CDA, CCC, DoE and the Forest Department could not control hill cutting in the last few years, the committee observed.

A huge amount of money has been allocated for afforestation in a vast area adjoining Chittagong city including Sitakunda, Mirsarai and Hathazari under the Bare Hill Afforestation Project, but the forest department divisional office did not implement it, the report said.

It said encroachers cut huge areas of Batali Hill and Matijharna--prospective tourist spots owned by Bangladesh Railway--in cooperation with some unscrupulous BR staff and with direct support from influential political sections.

It suggested that a national hill management policy be prepared and a committee be formed comprising all sections concerned led by the divisional commissioner.

It also recommended not allowing any brickfield within 10km and any housing project within 5km of any hill and building boundary walls and guide walls immediately at all offices of government organisations located in hillside areas.

WALL COLLAPSE PROBE
The five-member committee formed to probe the wall collapse identified 38 persons including 10 railway staffs as encroachers who illegally built slums on railway land.

An 80-feet stretch of the 828-feet long boundary wall of General Electric Repairing Shop of Bangladesh Railway near Pahartali Bazar collapsed due to heavy rainfall killing 12 persons.

The committee identified five reasons behind the collapse of the wall beside which around 12 houses were built. It also presented 14 recommendations in its report.

The committee report mentioned that the boundary wall also collapsed during the cyclone of April 29, 1991 and was built again without taking proper protection measures.

In its report, the committee recommended that the railway authority show "zero tolerance" in taking administrative initiatives to demolish all types of illegal structures built on railway land and serve notice for evacuating the place in a minimum time.