These skyscrapers, built without clearances from the Rajshahi Development Authority (RDA) and the Fire Service and Civil Defense, have now become 'time bombs' or extreme security risks for the entire city.
It is known that two decades ago, the Life Insurance Corporation building was the only 10-story building in Rajshahi. Although the city is now covered in multi-story buildings, in most cases the building construction rules have been ignored. According to the rules, structures above seven floors are considered multi-story buildings. But a person has built a 9-story building without any clearance from the fire service in the city's suburb of New Market.
Although the flats in this building, built by a developer company, have already been sold, the RDA later said that it was built completely without permission. The authorities have also filed a case in this regard. A similar horrific picture has been seen in the case of a 12-storey tower in Saheb Bazar.
There are allegations that most building owners are illegally building up to eight or ten floors with permission for seven floors. Although there is a legal obligation to leave adequate road space next to the building according to building regulations, this is not being followed.
According to the latest data from the RDA, there are a total of 1,245 multi-storey buildings in Rajshahi district. Of these, 848 buildings have been constructed without leaving the minimum road. There are currently 14 cases pending for the construction of unauthorized buildings. In addition, in the last decade, the RDA has sent notices to more than 6,500 building owners in Rajshahi for building buildings outside the design or illegally.
On the other hand, Mohammad Abdur Razzak, Assistant Director of Rajshahi Fire Service and Civil Defense, said in a worrying statement that 721 buildings in the city, including residential houses, educational institutions and markets, are currently in an extremely risky condition. He fears a major disaster in the future due to the construction of buildings without following the rules.
Growing anger, concerns about rescue work: City residents allege that many are getting design approvals illegally in collusion with some unscrupulous RDA officials and for financial benefits. A local resident named Nurul Islam expressed his anger and told reporters that in the event of an earthquake or fire, there is no minimum path for fire service vehicles to enter these buildings. Since it becomes impossible to conduct rescue work, the number of deaths in any accident will increase manifold.
end/rar/rh/
