Govt finalises bldg code, says minister

The government is set to issue a gazette notification soon as it has finalised national building code, said Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain on Sunday.

"The government will soon publish the gazette notification on Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC)," he said while speaking at a programme titled "Recent earthquake related researches and activity in Bangladesh" at a city hotel.

Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) organised the event under its earthquake resilience project.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister also urged the Rajuk authority to be cautious while issuing occupancy certificates for connecting utility services lines to newly constructed buildings.

New buildings will be free from earthquake risks if built as per BNBC, he said, adding that if an earthquake measuring 7 on the Richter scale hits the city, it will be difficult for the authority to face it.

He also said it is not possible to prevent/stop natural disasters like earthquake. But losses of lives and damages could be minimised by strengthening earthquake preparedness activities.

However, the city development authority is set to implement BNBC after issuance of the gazette notification.

"We will implement BNBC strictly for the betterment of city dwellers," Rajuk chairman Md Abdur Rahman told the FE.

Vice-chancellor of University of Asia Pacific Dr Jamilur Reza Choudhury, architect Mobasser Hossain and director of Rajuk's earthquake resilience project Abdul Latif Helali as well as officials of fire service and civil defence department, among others, were present.

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