Demolition of risky buildings begins in Dhaka
321 structures identified as hazardous
The two city corporations of Dhaka and the Rajdhani Unnayan Kattripakkha (RAJUK) have begun demolishing some of the 321 identified risky buildings in Dhaka to save the lives of their inhabitants. The occupants of the buildings17 of them owned by the government and the rest privately ownedhave already been evacuated.
New buildings will be constructed in place of the demolished ones as per government approval, Md. Shah Kamal, secretary of the disaster management and relief ministry, told reporters at a briefing held at the Secretariat yesterday.
The press conference was held to brief the media on the preparation made on tackling disasters and to observe National Disaster Preparedness Day, 2017 on Friday.
Disaster management and relief minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya outlined for the media the preparations and future initiatives of his ministry and subordinate offices.
Disaster management department director general Reaz Ahmed, additional secretaries of the ministry Awlad Hossain and Satyabrata Saha, and other senior officials were also present.
Shah Kamal said the government had to wait for a long time before demolition could begin as most of the houses were private properties, while only a few belonged to the government. There were High Court stay orders against the demolition of four buildings.
In reply to a question, Maya said a large sum of money, deposited in the Pakistani governments treasury during the flood of 1970, was still lying there. Pakistan had not handed over the sum to Bangladesh after its Liberation in 1971. Bangladesh is yet to get back its share of assets from Pakistan after the Liberation War. The government will take the necessary steps to realise those assets from that country. The Prime Minister will take the initiatives in this connection, he added.
Describing thunderstorms as a newly acknowledged element of disaster, Maya said the government has already taken steps to protect people from it.
He explained that lightning usually struck tall trees like palm and coconut trees, but their numbers have declined drastically in recent times. As a result, people in the open are being struck more frequently. In this situation, the government is planting 10 lakh palm trees in the country. Most of them will be planted in lightning-prone areas, he said.
Venezuela is the most lightning-prone country in the world, while Bangladesh is experiencing massive lightning recently. The Bangladesh government is sincere about tackling this disaster. It has already compensated lightning victims, he added.
Maya also said that the government would build houses for five persons in every upazilas of 40 flood and cyclone-prone areas. Around 1,000 snake charmers will get solar panel facilities from government funds. He also announced the building of houses for the countrys poor Baul singers.
