Badrul Ahsan :
The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) is mulling to make it mandatory for the city dwellers to take the services of builders, construction experts and workers who are on its approved list, official sources said.
If everything goes accordingly, the sources said the new decision would come into effect from the year 2018, they said.
Funded by the World Bank (WB), the city development authority under the ‘The Urban Resilience Project’ has initiated the move to ensure that earthquake-resistant buildings are made in the capital and its suburbs.
“It will not only reduce the earthquake risks but also make sure of a planned and sustainable urbanisation in Bangladesh,” a high official at the project told The New Nation on Tuesday preferring anonymity.
Under the Tk 5.0 billion project, the RAJUK will do assessment of the vulnerability of critical and essential infrastructures such as schools, colleges, hospitals, police stations and service providing public offices.
At the same time, it will devise risk-sensitive land use plans through underground structural viability test and ensure operations of Urban Resilience Unit (URU) within RAJUK for disaster risk reduction activities.
Starting from 2018, the six subcomponents of the Project would be implemented over a period of five years, said Project Director Abdul Latif Helaly.
He said RAJUK had no capacity or authority to check earthquake vulnerability in concrete-made
structures before approval of the latest project.
“But through this initiative, we’re going to assess structural risk of key structures and allow development activities in the future, taking possible tremor into consideration,” he added.
Helaly, also a Superintending Engineer (civil) at RAJUK, said they set up an electronic construction permitting system where service recipients can submit their structural plans and designs online for getting approval.
After getting approval, receivers need to choose and hire the building constructors from the database of RAJUK where well-trained engineers, architects, planners, subsoil investigators, bar binders, masons and others will be available, he said.
“If anyone doesn’t go through the procedure even after getting approval, his or her structural designs and plans will be held up. It will be mandatory for service seekers from 2018,” he said.
According to him, six global consultancy firms will impart training to local building constructors before their inclusion in the database.
Although urban planners and earthquake experts have hailed the move, they also raised the question of the enforcement capacity of RAJUK saying the authority has a poor track record as far as ensuring the adherence to building regulations.
National Project Director of Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP), Phase-11, Mohammad Abdul Qayyum said RAJUK should take some measures like introduction of incentive facility for encouraging common people along with assessing vulnerability of critical and important structures.
At the same time, RAJUK should talk with professionals and other stakeholders of the construction sector and move for improving skills of the private sector in light with quake-resistant construction work, he said.
“Of course, it’s a good and time-befitting project. But the issue of availability of building having good knowledge on seismology and g-engineering could overshadow the prospects of the project. So, RAJUK must pay full attention to it,” Qayyum said.
Dr Mehedi Ahmed Ansary, Professor of Civil Engineering Department of BUET, said it is possible to get construction professionals and workers if RAJUK starts implementing the project right now.
“We’ll require at least 2,000 engineers and architects to do the job. I think RAJUK must work without wasting any time if it wants to get full benefits of the project,” he said.
The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) is mulling to make it mandatory for the city dwellers to take the services of builders, construction experts and workers who are on its approved list, official sources said.
If everything goes accordingly, the sources said the new decision would come into effect from the year 2018, they said.
Funded by the World Bank (WB), the city development authority under the ‘The Urban Resilience Project’ has initiated the move to ensure that earthquake-resistant buildings are made in the capital and its suburbs.
“It will not only reduce the earthquake risks but also make sure of a planned and sustainable urbanisation in Bangladesh,” a high official at the project told The New Nation on Tuesday preferring anonymity.
Under the Tk 5.0 billion project, the RAJUK will do assessment of the vulnerability of critical and essential infrastructures such as schools, colleges, hospitals, police stations and service providing public offices.
At the same time, it will devise risk-sensitive land use plans through underground structural viability test and ensure operations of Urban Resilience Unit (URU) within RAJUK for disaster risk reduction activities.
Starting from 2018, the six subcomponents of the Project would be implemented over a period of five years, said Project Director Abdul Latif Helaly.
He said RAJUK had no capacity or authority to check earthquake vulnerability in concrete-made
structures before approval of the latest project.
“But through this initiative, we’re going to assess structural risk of key structures and allow development activities in the future, taking possible tremor into consideration,” he added.
Helaly, also a Superintending Engineer (civil) at RAJUK, said they set up an electronic construction permitting system where service recipients can submit their structural plans and designs online for getting approval.
After getting approval, receivers need to choose and hire the building constructors from the database of RAJUK where well-trained engineers, architects, planners, subsoil investigators, bar binders, masons and others will be available, he said.
“If anyone doesn’t go through the procedure even after getting approval, his or her structural designs and plans will be held up. It will be mandatory for service seekers from 2018,” he said.
According to him, six global consultancy firms will impart training to local building constructors before their inclusion in the database.
Although urban planners and earthquake experts have hailed the move, they also raised the question of the enforcement capacity of RAJUK saying the authority has a poor track record as far as ensuring the adherence to building regulations.
National Project Director of Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP), Phase-11, Mohammad Abdul Qayyum said RAJUK should take some measures like introduction of incentive facility for encouraging common people along with assessing vulnerability of critical and important structures.
At the same time, RAJUK should talk with professionals and other stakeholders of the construction sector and move for improving skills of the private sector in light with quake-resistant construction work, he said.
“Of course, it’s a good and time-befitting project. But the issue of availability of building having good knowledge on seismology and g-engineering could overshadow the prospects of the project. So, RAJUK must pay full attention to it,” Qayyum said.
Dr Mehedi Ahmed Ansary, Professor of Civil Engineering Department of BUET, said it is possible to get construction professionals and workers if RAJUK starts implementing the project right now.
“We’ll require at least 2,000 engineers and architects to do the job. I think RAJUK must work without wasting any time if it wants to get full benefits of the project,” he said.
