Staff Reporter :
Housing and Public Works Minister SM Rezaul Karim said that the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) would check fire safety status in buildings across the city.
“To ensure public safety in buildings, the Rajuk will begin to check from Sunday whether building code was violated and whether fire safety systems were installed,” the Minister said it visiting the DNCC market after a devastating fire that partially gutted the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) market on Saturday.
The Minister said, “Rajuk will launch a systematic inspections of buildings across Dhaka from next Sunday, to check whether the building code was followed and if they have installed appropriate fire control systems.
“Regulations violation buildings will be identified within 15 days and the authority will suspend all activities in those buildings, sealing the structures if necessary,” he said.
The Minister warned of stern actions against those violating the building code. The owners, developers and Rajuk officials may be charged.
Replying to a query, the Minister said, “The government will provide all possible assistance to those who suffered losses in the fire. We take all disasters seriously.”The Minister said, “The DNCC kitchen market was not built in a planned way. The traders took it upon themselves to build this market. So the electrical connection and other facilities did not meet proper safety standards.”
The fire that broke out at the DNCC market in the city’s Gulshan- 1 area, burnt around 212 shops at 9:30am, confirmed Major AKM Shakil Nawaz, Director (Operation and Maintenance) of Fire Service and Civil Defence, during his press briefing.
