Joynal Abedin Khan :Suspension of vehicular movement and other activities in the Panthapath area due to collapse incident near Sundarband hotel causes huge economic losses to the business people of that area. Local businessmen said they counted crores of taka loss in the last four days since the incident.The small merchants and hawkers have been passing their days in distress as their business has significantly dropped following the collapse.It also causes much suffering to the city dwellers as well as the patients and relatives of different hospitals on Pantahpath including Square, Shamarita and City hospitals.The commuters are also paying extra money for traveling through Pantahpath and the nearby roads. Local inhabitants suffered disruption in the utility services as authorities concerned cut off the supply of power, gas and water in the area as part of extra security measures.Moreover, another portion of the road collapsed into the pit of an under construction building on Sunday night. Earlier, on Wednesday morning, the piling to protect the southern wall of the 50 feet pit, dug to construction of four basement floors for the 12-storey ‘NBL Twin Tower’ building of National Bank Limited near the Sonargaon intersection, partially collapsed.It caused a portion of the adjoining six-storey Sundarban Hotel’s foundation soil, boundary wall, an extension of footpath, some makeshift shops and an electric pole to cave in and damaged underground gas, water and sewer pipes while 50 guests were evacuated.On Thursday night, the eastern and northern walls collapsed, taking down the entire length of the footpath, two billboards, one of which fell on the road and a tree.All the establishments, including the Hotel Sundarban, entire area are stated to be very risky as the sand and mud of the ground are being washed away by the water coming out of the leakage in the water line.Meanwhile, Panthapath’s southern lane from Karwan Bazar intersection to Panthapath signal opened to traffic on Sunday morning. The lane was sealed off for four days following the collapse of the building under-construction site near Karwan Bazar intersection.The Bir Uttam CR Dutta road in front of Sundarban Hotel was still off and sand-filling work was underway to repair the road that sank along with the collapse of the construction site, said Bakhtiar Hossain, a Sub-Inspector of Kalabagan thana.The Mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Annisul Huq said: “We are estimating that the area belongs to Dhaka South. But, it doesn’t matter whether it belongs to Dhaka North or South. I have found the area very risky and now its our main duty to make area safe for people.””We thought 1,500 trucks of sand would be enough but now it seems that we need twice the number,” the Mayor said.Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Sayeed Khokon said: “Our first duty is to ensure extra security measures in order to save the lives and valuables of the people in the area and we will take every possible step in this regard.””The precarious position of Sundarban Hotel, now perched on the edge of a collapsed site, just goes to show how carelessly construction is carried out in the city. The hotel is at serious risk due to the digging on the plot of land beside it,” he added.After the second and third subsidences, more cracks developed on the wall that separates the Hotel Sundarban and the construction site, said the sources Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK).The DNCC Chief Engineer Gazi Firoz Rahman said: “There is no way other than piling sand to avoid land sinking. But the risk will increase if it rains.”DSCC Chief Engineer Ansar Ali said, around 15,000 truckloads of sand have been dumped at the site.Buet Professor Sayeed Fakhrul Amin said: “The north-west side of Hotel Sundarban is still under risk. The authorities will have to dump sand to fill up the north-east and north-west sides of the excavation hole to make the area risk-free.”Md Salauddin, owner of the construction company, said the subsidences have significantly weakened their protective wall and further collapses may occur if there is heavy rain.The construction of the 12-storey NBL Twin Tower was started allegedly without necessary approval from Bangladesh Bank, said Bangladesh Bank Managing Director Shamsul Huda Khan.”The NBL also had made an agreement with Heerim Architects and Planners, a Korean company, for the construction. The project cost was estimated at around Tk 200 crore. Bangladesh Bank had rejected the proposal in the middle of last year.National Bank MD Shamsul Huda Khan claimed that construction had started with necessary approval from Bangladesh Bank. The boundary wall of the hotel, an alley, and a street, adjacent to the construction site of NBL Twin Tower, collapsed on the day while part of CR Dutta road also developed cracks, said the OC of Kolabagan Police Station.
