BGMEA building malignant tumour at Hatirjheel : PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addresses the inaugural ceremony of the Commonwealth Association of Architects' 20th General Assembly and Conference 2013 at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in the capital yesterday. Photo: BSS

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday expressed her disappointment over the construction of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) building on Hatirjheel canal.
“Existence of the BGMEA building there is like a malignant tumour at the scenic place,” she said.
She was addressing the inaugural ceremony of the Commonwealth Association of Architects' 20th General Assembly and Conference 2013 jointly organised by the Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB) and the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) at a hotel in the capital.
She also urged the country's architects to devote themselves in building an environment-friendly country rather than only being engaged in designing buildings.
“You'll have to give special attention to protection of environment while making any planning……you'll have to undertake planning of structures in such a way so that rural environment is maintained despite living in urban areas,” she said.
State Minister for Science and Technology Yeafesh Osman spoke on the occasion as special guest while President of the Institute of Architects Bangladesh and CAA President Mubasshar Hossain also spoke. Newly elected CAA President Rukhshan Widyalankar of Sri Lanka was present.
ASM Ismail, convenor of the organising committee of the CAA conference, delivered the welcome speech.
More than hundred foreign architects from around the world and more than a thousand local architects are participating in the event.
The prime minister also called upon the architects, especially the country's architects, to preserve water bodies while planning structures for tackling the situation in case of fire incidents.
Mentioning that unplanned urbanisation becomes a concern for the whole world as it degrades environment in one hand, on the other becomes a threat to the public health, she said the architects have an important responsibility to overcome the problem.
She said the government has taken initiatives to implement "Detailed Area Plan" (DAP) to build a planned Dhaka bringing discipline in building structures.