AS IN the case of every human tragedy in Bangladesh, the death of 11 people, including six of a family, in a torrential rain-triggered landslide at Lalkhan Bazar in Chittagong city entailed quite an intense debate. Relentless hill-cutting was once again identified as the primary reason for the landslide and the relevant agencies of the government were once again blamed for their failure to effectively fight rampant hill cutting. The Greater Chittagong Development Action Committee, a citizens' group, alleged that none of the recommendations of the probe committees formed after the June 11, 2007 series of landslides in Chittagong city and adjacent areas, which killed more than 120 people and injured as many, had been followed to the letter. The official line was predictably defensive. The acting mayor of the Chittagong City Corporation claimed that some