Pvt medical college flouts bldg construction rules
The authorities of a private medical college and hospital have been constructing a six-storey building close to Maghbazar Ispahani Colony in the city in violation of building construction rules, causing suffering to the colony residents.
Residents of the colony alleged that Ad-din Hospital had started constructing its medical college building about a year ago very close to the boundary wall of the colony without leaving any 'setback space' between the building and the boundary wall as required by the rules.
'Setback space' refers to the gap between the boundaries of two buildings. According to the Building Construction Rule 1996 (amended in 2006), it is mandatory for commercial buildings of four floors and above to leave 1.5 metres (around 5 feet) of 'setback space' around the building.
The colony residents also alleged that rubbish and other waste materials have also been thrown into the colony, damaging roofs of several houses.
Moreover, solid and liquid wastes are also dumped in the colony area, they said.
Construction workers trespassing on the colony area and nighttime construction accompanied by loud music are a regular nuisance disrupting the peaceful environment of the 60-year-old colony, the residents alleged.
Dr Shamim Ahmed, a resident of the colony, said, "Construction materials regularly land on my lawn. As a result, walking on my own garden has become risky. They cannot do whatever they want to."
Another resident Syed Munir Khasru, a teacher of Institute of Business Administration, Dhaka University, said, "Ispahani Colony is one of the last remaining patches of land in the city that offers serenity to its residents. This kind of open space is rare in Dhaka. But the peaceful ambience of the colony is being spoiled."
Ispahani Colony was constructed in 1950 on 9.4 acres of land. Currently the colony houses 54 families residing in 34 buildings and bungalows.
Management of the colony said the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) issued a notice in January asking the hospital authorities to remove illegal structures within 15 days and not to go ahead with the construction until the matter is resolved, but to no avail.
Sayed Hasan, general manager of the Ispahani Group, said, "More than two months have passed since the notice was issued, but the hospital authorities are still carrying out the construction work."
When contacted, Dr Sheikh Mohiuddin, executive director of Ad-din Hospital, denied the allegations of violation of building construction rules.
However, he could not give any satisfactory answer as to why there is no 'setback space' between the boundaries.
About other allegations, he said, "We have already taken several measures to address the problems. We have installed safety net and scaffold around the building so that construction materials do not fall in the colony. We have also repaired the damaged roof and stopped nighttimes construction and also asked labourers not to play music."
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