Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) 2006 is not being followed in constructing buildings due to lack of proper monitoring by the authority concerned. This is making those vulnerable to earthquakes, said a top realtor of the country.
"BNBC 2006 has all the guidelines to make a building safe. There are instructions how to construct an earthquake compliant building. But unfortunately it is not followed properly in many cases," said Sheltech managing director Toufiq M Seraj.
His comments came at a discussion meeting on 'Code Compliant Building Design for Earthquake' and press conference on 'Sheltech Budgetary Fair 2015' at Sheltech Lounge in the city Thursday.
Mr Seraj made the keynote speech while director (engineering), Saamiya Seraj, made a presentation on 'Earthquake Compliant Building Design in Sheltech'.
Mr Seraj said in many cases construction companies use substandard building materials to reduce costs.
"The building code is flouted either willingly or out of ignorance to reduce cost. As a result the construction becomes weak making the buildings risky," he said.
Mr Seraj highlighted importance of the construction materials, along with supervision of the construction work to ensure the building is being built as per the design.
Electrical drawing, mechanical and plumbing drawings should be done by experienced and expert architects following the guidelines, he said.
The noted civil engineer said Nepal earthquake is a wake-up call for Bangladesh and the awareness regarding earthquake, construction and design among the public and private sector needs to be increased.
He suggested immediate retrofitting and refurbishing of the important national and government buildings to save those from destruction.
In her presentation, Ms Saamiya described risk reduction strategies for buildings during earthquakes through code compliant structural design.
Sheltech will make the visitors to the fair aware about tremors to stimulate a well informed discussion about earthquakes in the real estate sector, she said.
The Budgetary Fair 2015 will be held from May 22, 2015 to June 10, 2015.
Sheltech is going to sell apartments at prime locations in Dhaka, as well as land in Ashulia and Singair at reduced prices.
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