Cracks in 4-storey city building triggers panic

Cracks in a four-storey building in the city triggered panic among its residents on Monday last.
The building was constructed violating the RAJUK'S building codes in the capital's Siddikbazar area, locals and officials concerned said.
Locals alleged that the owner named as Walid had constructed the structure on a two-storey foundation but later it was expanded by two more storeys for commercial purpose, causing structural weakness.  
Cracks also appeared in the walls at another tin-shed semi-pucca residential structure, located just behind the four-storey building.    
According to the residents, a massive sound rocked the four-storey building and the tin-shed semi-pucca residential structure at about 10:00pm on Monday last.
Minutes after the sound, the panic-stricken residents found several cracks at key positions of those structures, prompting them to pass the whole night under the open sky to avert any unexpected building collapse.
After being informed by locals, police, firefighters and RAJUK (Rajdhani Unnayan Katripakkha) officials rushed to the spot the following morning and evacuated the residents in fear of collapse.
When contacted, Inspector (Investigation) of Bangshal Police Station Abul Hasan said they visited the spot and evacuated residents from all the floors of the buildings.
"We're searching for the building owner who went into hiding following development of the cracks. Anyway, we're deploying the police to find him out," he said.
Talking to the FE, visiting RAJUK Magistrate Shahidul Islam said they would assign a team of structural experts to inquire about the latest conditions of those buildings after finishing the evacuation process.
 "At the same time, we're also considering to remove heavy machinery, which were installed in a few floors of the nearby 7-storey building to avert any kind of disastrous incidents," he said. "Legal action will be taken against the owners following the experts' report."
He said they would soon ask the owner to demolish the faulty structure for the sake of public safety. "If he (the owner) fails to follow the order, we'll knock down the building at our own initiative," he added.
Baby Begum, owner of the semi-pucca residential house, said plasters of the wall started falling seconds after a massive sound inside their bed room while she along with her family members was sleeping.
"The plasters fell very close to her two-year old granddaughter. Luckily, no one was hurt. Then, we came out of the house at night after finding massive cracks on the walls," she said describing the horrific moments.
Deen Islam, younger son of Baby Begum, said a crack was developed on the wall of their house four days ago after a little shake. "But we took it lightly as we thought it was a tremor," he added.         
Mohammad Jahangir, who resides at a small residential structure in front of the four-storey building, alleged that the owner of the multi-storey building added two more floors without taking approval from the RAJUK several years ago.
"But nobody showed the courage to resist him as he (the owner) has strong political affiliation," he said.
Comments of the owner were not available as his flat was found locked from outside. His mobile phone was also found switched off.