Construction ‘nightmare’ in Dhaka

The unstable position of Sundarban Hotel now perched on the edge of a collapsed site, just goes to show how carelessly construction is carried out in the city. The hotel is at a serious risk due to digging on the plot of land beside it, for a multi-storeyed building of National Bank. All the guests of the hotel were evacuated, and the fate of the hotel remains unknown as yet.
Sundarban Hotel is just behind the National Bank building which is being constructed on one side of Panthapath. The large hole dug for the construction work is right beside the hotel.
It is assumed that the piling done in this space led to the ground caving in. RAJUK claims that even if the approved design is faulty, the piling was not being carried out accordingly. The hotel’s boundary wall and a part of road also collapsed.
Massive buildings are sprouting up all over the city. Most of them are right up against the next building. The construction and piling work may put these other buildings at risk, as in the case of Sundarban Hotel. The ordinary people there may not be lucky enough as the erstwhile residents of Sundarban Hotel to escape in time.
RAJUK must get down to the task immediately, of checking the designs of the buildings and ensuring that these are being constructed properly.

Nabil Azam Dewan
Lalmatia, Dhaka
nabil.dewan@gmail.com