Electrical wiring is frequently a jangle of overloaded circuits. The posttragedy ritual is not a prolonged one, however. Reports of investigators are expediently moved along the bureaucracy's chain of command and then into oblivion. Accountability, so keenly demanded at first, is never quite determined at last. One more tangible result is a short period of haggling.
Bereaved families expect compensation for lost loved ones.
After the Chowdhury fire, the factory's workers staged protest marches and were joined by thousands of sympathizers. That was far beyond the usual recompense. But then this had been an especially shocking tragedy. Upset by the catastrophe and alarmed by bad publicity, leaders of the powerful manufacturing associations met and decided to chip in, adding a sum to the Chowdhury factory's own contribution. Nannu Mia, a survivor of the Nov. 25 fire, had helped organize the workers' protests.