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Ganaktuli sweepers still live in cracked building

Repair goes on at snail's pace

Shahnaz Parveen
As renovation of the damaged building in Ganaktuli Sweeper Colony goes on at a very slow pace, residents of the building are still in fear of accidents.
The four-storey building that developed a long crack on its ground floor remains in its damaged condition even one and a half months after the incident.
On the night ofDecember31, 2007 the crack developed on the walls and floors in six rooms of the building inhabited by Dhaka City Corporation's sweepers.
Residents of the building said die crack developed slowly at night from one end of the building to the other, causing panic among them.
All the 40 families residing in the building vacated immediately, fearing that the building might cave in. But later they came back after DCC engineers examined the building and announced that it is safe.
Renovation of the ground
floor started in the first week of January and the work is supposed to end in three weeks. But the work is going on at a snail's pace, leaving the 10 families who lived on the ground floor in misery.
“We do not have any place to go. This was our only home. Now we have to live in our rela-tives' places who do not have enough space for their own family," said one of the residents of the ground floor.
“Even though they have told us it is safe to live here, we still doubt it. We sleep at night thinking may be it will cave in at night while we are asleep," said Shakuntala, another resident of the building.
“But we still live here as we have no other option and the authorities have not offered us a safer place," she added.
Contacted, DCC Chief Engineer Md Ashfakul Islam said, "DCC usually employ contractors to finish such jobs. We have to go through some procedures such as inviting tender and selecting contrac-
tors, which usually take a little time."
“We will soon finish the work,” he assured.
Islam however brushed aside any possibility of danger. "The building did not tilt as the residents suspect It is safe to live there.”
There are five buildings for sweepers in Ganaktuli colony, each resided by 40 families. The colony was established on 20 acres of land near Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) Headquarters for a leprosy hospital, but later it was turned into a sweepers' colony for DCC. Many families live aroundthe building in shanties.
The condition of entire colony is unhygienic as the sweeper population has increased over time. Many of the families are forced to live for generations in one small room, which is only 9 feet by 11 feet in size.
Ganga, a resident of the colony said, T came here after independence. At that time I used to live with my husband
and in-laws. Now 11 members of rny family including my daughter, son and daughterin -law live in this small room."
Foul odour of garbage makes life even more difficult for those living in the colony, which does not have any indoor bathroom facility.
"We all take bath out in the open. There is no room for privacy," said Raghu, another resident of the colony.
Residents also complained that local influential people and drug traders have occupied a major portion of the colony. They sell heroin, ganja and liquor openly and arc involved in sex trade after dark.
fhe availability of drugs in the colony encourages the juveniles and unemployed young men of the area in taking drugs.