2 buildings tilt in Khulna

9 June 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent, Khulna

A ten-storey building on Jessore upper road and another six-storey structure beside Moilapota in the city have been leaning to one side for the last one-year. Almost all the tenants left the ten-storey National Bank building feeling an impending danger. Sources said residents in the adjacent areas are also in a panic. They fear that the high-rise built on marshy land may collapse and create another tragedy like Nimtali. The tenants said the building has become very risky and it needs to be demolished soon to avert casualty. There are a railway hospital, a shopping mall, many shops and hundreds of semi puca and thatched houses adjacent to it. Principal Officer of the bank Shefar Ahmed admitted that the high-rise developed some cracks. But it has not tilted to any side, he added. Khulna City Corporation (KCC) identified some 94 more unsafe buildings in the city after carrying out a survey in 2008. Of the 94 buildings some 47 are being used as residential quarters, 18 as shops and 18 have been abandoned. Of the remaining eleven structures, four are being used as clubs and one as a cooperative bank and another one as a temporary temple. These eleven buildings are under the authority of deputy commissioner of the district. According to KCC survey report, at least 40 per cent of these highly dangerous buildings are located in Ward no-21. City Mayor Talukder Abdul Khaleque blamed Public Works Department for not taking action so far against these unsafe structures. The mayor added that KCC would go for action on June 18. The hazardous buildings also include Khulna District Jail, Ansar and VDP office, Khulna General Hospital, some bungalows for civil and police administration officials and a five-storey labour colony building for jute mill workers at Khalishpur.