Considering the ongoing fire incidents, Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) has urged multiple certifications for establishing restaurants during a press conference on Tuesday.
Bapa, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela) and Bangladesh Institute of Planners (Bip) jointly organized the press conference titled "City plagued with building hazards: What to do”at Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia Hall of National Press Club.
The conference was presided over by Bapa President Prof Nur Mohammad Talukdar and conducted by Bapa General Secretary Alamgir Kabir.
Bapa Vice President Architect Iqbal Habib delivered the keynote speech.
Architect Iqbal Habib said: “Urbanization is increasing in Bangladesh with economic development. Despite aims for sustainable urban and human settlements as outlined in SDG-11, the country has yet to achieve safe and resilient cities. The number of fire incidents has become a disaster, highlighting the necessity for multiple certifications for establishing restaurants.”
“Over the last nine years, Bangladesh has experienced 190,167 fire incidents, resulting in 1,051 deaths and 3,606 injuries. The main causes include unauthorized buildings and land use and lack of oversight by relevant agencies. The Bangladesh National Building Code 2022 and the Building Construction Rules 2008 emphasize fire safety, making it mandatory for large projects. However, violations and risky transformations of buildings are common,” he added.
Bapa President Prof Nur Mohammad Talukdar said: “Behind every fire accident, there is the excessive greed of the profiteers. It seems they are in a race to become billionaires, regardless of who dies in the process. Ordinary people are dying crushed by this greed, and ordinary workers are being blamed, leaving the real culprits untouched.”
He called on everyone to work together to overcome this path of death.
“We need to learn from the accidents and move forward. In addition to preventing such accidents, the capabilities of the Fire Service need to be increased,” Bapa Vice President Dr Atiur Rahman said.
He demanded the creation of a digital database for safety, rating all buildings' facilities and shortcomings, and the rapid implementation of a hotline service.
Bangladesh Institute of Planners (Bip) President Syeda Rizwana Hasan called for valuing human lives and requested necessary measures from the prime minister, including identifying and punishing those responsible for unauthorized building code violations.
Prof Dr Adil Muhammad Khan criticized government agencies for negligence, leading to the loss of lives. He demanded the release of detained workers and punishment for the real culprits.
Prof Dr Ahmed Kamruzzaman Majumdar highlighted the absence of fire alarms in buildings, leading to fatalities, and called for a survey of all buildings in Dhaka to identify and mark risky ones.
Bapa’s recommendations and demands:
- Urge to form a "Task Force" comprising six ministries or agencies to identify fire-risk buildings within three to six months
- City Corporations, led by elected representatives, should ensure the display of "annual renewable usability" certificates at the entrance of buildings.
- Urgently establish a "Building Regulatory Authority (BRA)" according to the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) to ensure safety across all buildings in Bangladesh
- Invest in strengthening the "Civil Defence" section of the Fire Service and Civil Defence to train people at every Upazila level. It should be mandatory to employ such trained individuals in all industrial and commercial buildings.