Safety measures: Rajuk fines 5 builders
After the High Court's intervention, a Rajuk mobile court yesterday penalised five real estate builders, including three renowned ones, for not taking safety precautions at their under-construction buildings along the Mirpur Road in the city's Dhanmondi.
It is the first ever mobile court of Rajuk to enforce safety measures, said Shahidul Islam Bhuiyan, executive magistrate of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk).
The court fined Navana Real Estate Ltd, Asset Development and Holdings Ltd, Rupayan Real Estate Ltd, Saptak Builders and Comprehensive Holdings Ltd Tk 4.5 lakh for not taking safety measures, said Bhuiyan, who led the court.
According to Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC), any builder, commercial or individual, is legally bound to take safety precautions at construction sites.
Navana, Asset, Rupayan and Comprehensive Holdings were fined Tk 1 lakh each while Saptak Tk 50,000, Bhuiyan said.
Navana is constructing a 15-storey building while Rupayan a 14-storey, Asset a 12-storey, Saptak a 14-storey and Comprehensive Holdings a 14-storey building along the Mirpur Road.
In mid-July, when Habibur Rahman Munna, a college student, died as a result of a brick fall from an under-construction building on Panthapath, Md Nurul Huda, chairman of Rajuk, told The Daily Star that they did not have the authority to enforce safety measures.
The High Court (HC) on July 28 summoned Rajuk chief to appear before it on August 3 and explain the state of building safety and compliance of rules following the death of the student.
“We will submit a report to HC on the action we took against those for not complying with the construction safety rules, as the court has summoned Rajuk chairman,” Bhuiyan said.
Rajuk had so far been engaged in rectifying building deviation and did not pay attention to compliance with the construction safety measures of BNBC, he said.
Munna, 18, an HSC examinee of Tejgaon College, died on the spot, as a brick fell on his head from the 10th floor of a 15-storey building, a construction project of Sagufta Group.
The HC later ordered police to arrest Khaled Mohammad Jewel Mollah, managing director of Sagufta Group, and Walid Mollah, director, in connection with the death.
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