A five-storey building in city's Roopnagar area tilted last weak causing panic among the inmates and neighbours. Police and Fire Brigade personnel rushed to the spot and quickly evacuated occupants of the building. None was, however, injured in the incident. A team from the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) was sent to the spot. Police told the journalists that the owner of the building stays abroad. One of his relations looks after the building. But he also resides in Kishoreganj district.
The cause of tilting of the building could not be immediately known. There are two different versions about the incident. Some local people said the building had no plan approved by the RAJUK. Another source told a channel TV that the building had faulty foundation.
This is not an isolated case of tilting or collapse of buildings in and around Dhaka city. These are widespread. Two months ago, a four-storey under-construction building in the densely populated Ray Shaheb Bazar area in the old part of Dhaka city collapsed. The building collapse that took place early in the morning caused panic among the neighbours. No casualty was, however, reported. According to eyewitness accounts, at first the building tilted towards the western side and crumbled in the twinkling of an eye. Some neighbours told journalists that the collapsed four-storey building was quickly erected in a month.
Normally, as per construction rules, at least a period of three to four weeks is required for consolidation of a newly built roof with adequate watering of the concrete structure. The owner of the building disappeared immediately after its collapse. The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), the lone city development authority, filed a case with Sutrapur Police Station for constructing the building without RAJUK approval. A RAJUK official who visited the site told journalists that gross violation of construction rules resulted in the building collapse. Moreover, materials used in the building were of poor quality. The building had no approved design, press reports said quoting the RAJUK official.
Five thousand buildings, as the Housing and Public Works Minister told parliament on February 16 last, have been constructed in Dhaka city in violation of plans approved by the RAJUK. The minister also informed the House that the RAJUK had identified the risky buildings. The statement of the minister is far from the actual situation prevailing in the construction sector.
As we reported earlier in this column, how many buildings, particularly high-rise ones in the capital are unsafe, is difficult to ascertain in the absence of proper survey. According to a report prepared by the ministry of housing and public works in 2010, the number of risky buildings in the country is about 80,000. The ministry of disaster management, on the other hand, estimates that the number of unsafe buildings will be 72,000. A senior RAJUK official had made an alarming disclosure that 82% to 90% buildings outside the limits of Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) have been constructed without RAJUK approval.
A large number of areas in Dhaka, Narayanganj and Gazipur districts, particularly Savar, Ashulia and Tongi, were brought under the jurisdiction of the RAJUK when the authority approved Detailed Area Plan (DAP) in 2010. RAJUK's approval is mandatory for constructing any building in Dhaka city and in areas under DAP. Most of the buildings in DAP areas outside the city have no RAJUK approval.
After Rana Plaza tragedy, the RAJUK started issuing notices to the owners of those unauthorized buildings with intimation to all other relevant departments. Before the DAP was taken, the local government authorities were empowered to approve building plans beyond DCC limits.
In the backdrop of gross irregularities in the construction of buildings violating plans approved by the RAJUK, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) was assigned to conduct drives against the owners last year. The ACC, in cooperation with the RAJUK, was authorised to carry out probe into irregularities in the construction of buildings in Dhaka city. The ACC has initially brought under its watch about 5000 buildings constructed in different city areas violating the RAJUK-approved designs.
The objective of the drive by the anti-graft body is to check such irregularities which have ultimately resulted in unplanned urbanisation. The ACC team is also conducting investigation to detect irregularities by a section of RAJUK officials. The team has already examined papers of about 1500 buildings and conducted a spot survey of about 200 buildings. The ACC team has detected that the RAJUK officials, particularly at field level, did not monitor the construction of those buildings. The irregularities in construction have been found to be widespread.
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