STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Those who fail to construct buildings complying with the Bangladesh National Building Code will be brought under punishment, said State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Md Enamur Rahman yesterday.

Addressing a debate competition at Bangladesh Film Development Corporation as the chief guest, Enamur said a team of skilled engineers will be formed to examine buildings and give necessary advice to owners during their construction.

The competition was organised by Debate for Democracy, a non-profit and non-government organisation, on the motion, “The role of building owners to tackle the risk of earthquake is more important than the government.”

Dhaka Cantonment Girls Public School and College and St Joseph Higher Secondary School participated in the debate.

Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiron, chairman of the organisation, said Rajuk takes more than a year to approve a building plan, which leads an owner to be more neglectful to comply with the BNBC.

“Some 72,000 buildings in Dhaka may collapse in a 7- 8 magnitude earthquake, while 30 percent of buildings in Dhaka, including building no 1 of Bangladesh Secretariat, are at higher risk in case of an earthquake,” said Kiron.

Debate for Democracy recommended that the government make all government, private buildings, hospitals, educational and religious institutes earthquake resilient and identify the risky buildings.