The government is set to purchase some key materials-tents and tarpaulins-worth Tk 1.0 billion (100 crore) as a precautionary measure against disasters like earthquakes that have shaken major cities over the past few months.
Earthquake experts forecast that the main cities like Dhaka, Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Mymensingh and Sylhet might face quakes of high scale as two major fault lines lie there.
The ministry of disaster management and relief (MoDMR) has decided to purchase some key materials to give shelter to the people and other living animals in the aftermath of any such catastrophe, an official at the ministry has told the FE.
The decision is important for the private sector as tents will be procured from local manufacturers who export the item mainly to the USA and the EU countries, he has said.
Secretary in charge of the ministry Md Shah Kamal told the FE that the Nepal tragedy in April last had sounded an alarm for taking quick action.
The government was now giving earthquake the top priority in its 'disaster discourses,' he said.
He said after the earthquake in September 2011, the government had taken such natural disasters very seriously and adopted a time-befitting plan of action.
If disasters, especially earthquakes, hit any city which might cause severe damage to buildings, those tents would be set up in open spaces to run rescue operations and use as temporary shelters, he said.
"Our medical rescue teams have still been working in Nepal; they inform us that the country faced a crisis of tents and tarpaulins," he said.
National project director of the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programmme (CDMP) under the MoDMR Mohammad Abdul Qayum said: "Our latest study showed that 78,323 buildings are vulnerable to complete collapse if a 6-magnitude earthquake originating from the Madhupur fault line shakes Dhaka."
"In case of a 7.5-magnitude earthquake originating from Madhupur fault line (near Dhaka city), about 72,316 buildings in the capital will be destroyed totally and 53,166 others partially," he said.
Professor of Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology (BUET) Civil Engineering Department Dr Mehedi Ahmed Ansari said the decision to purchase key equipment is praiseworthy.
"But the government has to bear in mind that there is no alternative to strict enforcement of building codes in big cities," he said.
He said they have collected satellite pictures of the buildings located in the worst-case areas of Dhaka.
"The capital has now been expanding towards low-lying areas, filled up by soft land that has intensified the risks of disasters," he said.
He said 65 per cent land in the Rajuk area is soft and the remaining 35 per cent is original. "Most buildings in the capital lack enough compliance to face a tremor", he said.
However, the government decision has also come as a boon to the local tent makers who export the item to UK, USA, Canada, Norway, Sweden, South Africa, Brazil, Korea and elsewhere in the world.
An official at the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) told the FE that the global tent export market size is worth nearly $650 million of which Bangladeshi exporters dominate with 55-60 per cent share.
He said HKD, Usebio, Hana S&B, Campex (BD) Ltd, Glenview (BD) Ltd, North Pole Ltd and some other foreign and joint venture companies are involved in tent industry.
An official of South Korea-based HKD Group told the FE that annual shipment by the company is now worth more than $120 million.
He said: "The local companies can supply high quality tents and tarpaulins to the government."
tonmoy.wardad@gmail.com
Govt to buy Tk 1.0b tents, tarpaulin over quake risks
Yasir Wardad | Published: May 31, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
Share if you like