Md. Anisur Rahman

Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, is one of the densely populated cities in the world. According to the latest report by World Population Review, Dhaka has ranked the sixth most populous city in the world, living 23,234 people in per square kilometre. The area of Dhaka Metropolitan is only 1600 square kilometre. In this small area, more than 20 million people live.

Now question is how can this small city accommodate the vast number of population? The answer is very complex to describe but very simple to understand. Just look at the city with birds’ eye. I am sure you will get the answer.

Dhaka is now termed as the city of buildings. To accommodate huge number of population, millions of planned and unplanned establishments have been constructed. How many buildings are there in Dhaka? There is no direct answer to this question as there is no data available in this regard.

No survey has been conducted recently for collecting exact information about the number of buildings in Dhaka. A survey which is conducted in the Detailed Plan Area (DAP) of RAJUK, reveals that there were 21,47,174 establishments in 2016. At the time, 16,930 buildings were found over 6-storey. 

In the course of time, everything changes very rapidly. More and more buildings are constructed without prioritising ecological balance and environmental issues. In the year 1985, there were a few high rise buildings including Bangladesh Bank building. Now, Dhaka holds more than 800 high rise buildings.

The more buildings are constructed, the more open filed decreased. At the time of earthquake, people generally come out of their homes and take shelter in open space outside the home for safety. Is it possible now in Dhaka to take shelter safely? No, not possible. Why? It is because the city did not flourish in a planned way.

It has now become a completely unplanned city. All the places are surrounded by high rise buildings. Safety zone is hardly found in the city. Any major natural disaster can bring about massive death and destruction.  

 At the time of recent fire incidents, we could notice how unplanned the city is!  Fire vehicles cannot move; no emergency stair is found; no water is found to extinguish the fire; the stairs are not spacious; fire fighters cannot move. At the end, it is said that the building was not constructed following the building code.

Why was the building code not followed? Who should have monitored? Why didn’t they take any initiative at the time of construction? It is a common scene of the country that after the accident happens, it is said that there was no fitness of the vehicle; no permission for commercial space; no permission for hotel; no fitness of the building; no building code is maintained. What are responsibilities of the concerned authorities before the accident?

Every newspaper of Bangladesh is continuously alarming about the death and casualties of any major earthquake in Dhaka city.

According to a survey conducted on the earthquake impact by Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), about 865,000 buildings would collapse in Dhaka city if an earthquake of 6.9 magnitude strikes at Madhupur fault in Tangail. Nearly 210,000 people would die and another 229,000 would sustain injuries if the quake hits at day time.

Another survey conducted in 2018 by RAJUK shows that over 66% buildings in Dhaka were constructed illegally without following the building code prescribed by RAJUK. Among 204,106 buildings surveyed from January-July 2018, 66.1% buildings are faulty. All these buildings are still remaining in Dhaka city.

It was promised by the concerned authority that strict legal action against illegally constructed buildings would be taken. The promise is not kept. Most of the buildings are at risk and most of the people are unsafe. Just imagine what the condition of the Dhaka will be if any major earthquake hits the city!

No sufficient precaution is seen from the government or the concerned authorities to make people aware about the earthquake issue. Precautionary measures must be taken immediately. Steps can be taken in different ways. First of all, every citizen of the country must make conscious of the safety measures before, during and after the earthquake.

In this case, social media, television channel and newspapers can play a strong role to make the people aware. Different video, articles, posters, banners, special reports can be circulated through these media so that people can know what they do during this perilous time.

Besides, Dhaka city must be decentralised to lessen the pressure on the city. Though the task is very difficult, it must be implemented at any cost so that the loss of earthquake can be minimized. Moreover, strict measures must be taken against the buildings constructed without following the building code.

Earthquake has no forecast. It can strike at any time, any moment and any situation. So, in order to reduce any massive loss of life and wealth, we must have adequate preparation. It is said that prevention is better than cure. We know earthquake is a natural disaster and it cannot be prevented. But a good preparation can minimise the losses. Let’s be conscious and make people conscious about earthquake.
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The writer is an Assistant Professor, Department of English, Principal Kazi Faruky College, Lakshmipur