prothom hello ,
Whose responsibility is it to monitor whether the rules and regulations are being followed?
Jalal Ahmed: There are many bodies in place to ensure the safety of the building. When a person is going to construct a building in Dhaka city, RAJUK determines whether it will be a commercial building or residential, its height and floor space, how much space is to be left vacant. Once the building is constructed keeping all these conditions in mind, RAJUK issues an occupancy certificate, clarifying whether the building is fit for use or not. This certificate of occupancy has to be renewed every five years. Before that Rajuk has to inspect the building. It has not been followed properly. Building owners and consumers are also careless. They're not really concerned about the safety of the building at all.
In the countries which we call developed countries, even in the countries near us, inspection is done duly. Take Singapore, for example. Then there's Toronto, Canada. The building inspectors there are very strict regarding rules and regulations. They not only study technical matters, but they are also trained in ethics. Many youth of our country also work there as building inspectors. If any negligence is found in the work of a building inspector, his license is immediately cancelled. Why is this not possible in our country? This is because the entire system is bad.
prothom hello ,
Return to Bailey Road. After every fire or building collapse, RAJUK says the building had no permissions. Why don't they say this earlier?
Jalal Ahmed: There is a Building Construction Act in the country, this law has provisions for imprisonment and fine. RAJUK can use laws to hold building owners accountable. But in most cases they do not do so. RAJUK remains weak as an establishment. Its very name is disturbing. Does RAJUK have sufficient number of skilled engineers, people with knowledge about fire safety? We have been trying to say for a long time that Rajuk will have to undergo a radical change. But this is not being done. The government will have to make these changes. It is now necessary to discuss with stakeholders and restructure RAJUK.
There is one more thing. Even though RAJUK does not conduct regular inspections, Dhaka Municipal Corporation does. Did they grant business licenses to these restaurants without any investigation?
In fact, our entire system is full of flaws and irregularities. There is a building code in Bangladesh. Then there's the International Code Council. Many countries around the world seek advice directly from this International Code Council. They regularly update their building construction and safety compliance regulations. Look what happens in our country. The BNBC Code was drafted in 2013 and enacted in 2021. In the intervening eight years, a lot of things changed. I think we need to get our buildings evaluated by the International Code Council.
