72,000 buildings at quake risk in capital: Razzak
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Minister for Food and Disaster Management Abdur Razzak Saturday said over 72, 000 buildings in and around the Dhaka metropolis are at risk and those will collapse if an earthquake with a magnitude of over 7 on the Richter scale hits the capital, reports BSS.
Inaugurating a two-day workshop on 'Risk Resilient Infrastructures: Role of Education and Training' at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), he said academics of BUET could play an important role in reducing risk of disaster like earthquake by inventing modern technology.
As part of government initiative to face such a disastrous situation and minimise the risk, the minister said, about 62,000 volunteers have been trained up under Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP).
Stressing the need for community involvement side by side using of modern technology to reduce the risk of any kind of disasters including earthquake, he urged academics to give priority to the experiences of the people who faced destruction in natural calamities over the years.
Referring to recent cyclones Aila and Sidr that hit the country's southwestern costal belts, the minister said, "We should use the experiences of the affected people on how they had re-started their lives by involving themselves voluntarily in reconstruction of damaged embankments within weeks of disaster."
Dr Abdur Razzak called upon all to work with united efforts to reduce risk of disasters as government alone could not do so.
BUET Vice-Chancellor Nazrul Islam chaired the workshop also addressed, among others, by Pro Vice-Chancellor of the university Habibur Rahman, National Projector Director of CDMP Abdul Qyaium and Director of BUET-JIDUS Mehedi Ahmed Ansary.
CDMP and BUET- Japan Institute of Disaster Prevention and Urban Safety (BUET- JIDUPS) jointly organised the workshop. Over 130 academics, experts and representatives of WASA, RAJUK, DESA, DESCO and other institutes including CUET are taking part in the workshop.
The objective of the workshop is to assess the current status of architecture, engineering, urban and regional planning curricula in BUET and other institutes to obtain input from different practising professionals in this field to develop an outline for Master's programme on disaster management.
A total of 14 papers on seven themes would be placed before the workshop and would be compiled after the-function and recommended to be included in disaster management curricula for concerned institutes.
Inaugurating a two-day workshop on 'Risk Resilient Infrastructures: Role of Education and Training' at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), he said academics of BUET could play an important role in reducing risk of disaster like earthquake by inventing modern technology.
As part of government initiative to face such a disastrous situation and minimise the risk, the minister said, about 62,000 volunteers have been trained up under Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP).
Stressing the need for community involvement side by side using of modern technology to reduce the risk of any kind of disasters including earthquake, he urged academics to give priority to the experiences of the people who faced destruction in natural calamities over the years.
Referring to recent cyclones Aila and Sidr that hit the country's southwestern costal belts, the minister said, "We should use the experiences of the affected people on how they had re-started their lives by involving themselves voluntarily in reconstruction of damaged embankments within weeks of disaster."
Dr Abdur Razzak called upon all to work with united efforts to reduce risk of disasters as government alone could not do so.
BUET Vice-Chancellor Nazrul Islam chaired the workshop also addressed, among others, by Pro Vice-Chancellor of the university Habibur Rahman, National Projector Director of CDMP Abdul Qyaium and Director of BUET-JIDUS Mehedi Ahmed Ansary.
CDMP and BUET- Japan Institute of Disaster Prevention and Urban Safety (BUET- JIDUPS) jointly organised the workshop. Over 130 academics, experts and representatives of WASA, RAJUK, DESA, DESCO and other institutes including CUET are taking part in the workshop.
The objective of the workshop is to assess the current status of architecture, engineering, urban and regional planning curricula in BUET and other institutes to obtain input from different practising professionals in this field to develop an outline for Master's programme on disaster management.
A total of 14 papers on seven themes would be placed before the workshop and would be compiled after the-function and recommended to be included in disaster management curricula for concerned institutes.