Govt urged to monitor building safety issues

Speakers at a discussion yesterday urged the government bodies concerned to regularly monitor building safety issues and strictly enforce the building code to minimise the damage and casualties caused by earthquake.     

The government should form a separate body for monitoring such issues as Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) has failed to deliver such services as per the people's expectation over the years, they said at the discussion organised by NARRI consortium in the capital's Brac Centre.

NARRI (National Alliance for Risk Reduction and Response Initiatives) consortium is an alliance of 10 international NGOs working in Bangladesh, including ActionAid, CARE, Oxfam and Plan International.

Around 90 percent damage of any disaster can be prevented through pre-disaster preparedness, said Brig Gen Ali Ahmed Khan, director general of Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence. Similarly, earthquake damage can also be minimised through regular monitoring and enforcement of the building code, he added.

Referring to the fire incident in Gulshan's DCC market, he said, “We warned the market authorities around eight months before the incident, but they did not pay any heed.”

Prof ASM Maksud Kamal, chairman of disaster science and management department of Dhaka University, said Rajuk has been giving excuse of manpower crisis over the years.

If it has such crisis, the government will have to increase its manpower for regular monitoring, he said, adding that mid-range earthquake could be prevented if the building owners follow the national building code properly during their construction. ActionAid Country Director Farah Kabir chaired the programme.

She said, “We have learned a lot from Rana Plaza collapse; we don't want such incident anymore."

Speaking as the chief guest, Director General of the Department of Disaster Management M Reaz Ahmed said there was a lack of coordination among the government departments concerned with regard to disaster management issue. “But we are working on it,” he said.

Dr Mehedi Ahmed Ansary, vice president of Bangladesh Earthquake Society; Asif Ibrahim, former president of FBCCI; Shabel Firuz, country director of Islamic Relief Bangladesh; Arif Abdullah Khan, programme specialist of UNDP; and Nasir Uddin, director of ActionAid; also spoke.