Around 35 to 40 per cent of buildings in Dhaka are not earthquake-resistant, according to experts. Against this backdrop, the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) plans to bring around 5.13 lakh buildings in the capital under phased visual assessment, preliminary engineering assessment and detailed engineering assessment.
At the same time, Rajuk Chairman Md Riazul Islam acknowledged that disciplinary action or suspension is currently in effect against around 130 of the organisation’s 240 inspectors.
The information emerged at a discussion titled “Country at Earthquake Risk: What We Should Do”, held at the Tofazzal Hossain Manik Miah Auditorium of the National Press Club on Saturday.
Speakers identified violations of building codes, construction of additional floors beyond approved limits, housing projects on weak soil and corruption within regulatory agencies as major factors behind Dhaka’s earthquake vulnerability.
Expressing his willingness to be accountable to the public for longstanding problems in urbanisation, Riazul Islam said at the event, “From now on, architects or engineers who sign off on designs will also be held responsible for the implementation and supervision of construction work.”
Noting that it was not possible to assign a separate inspector to every building, he said, “A new policy on illegal buildings and housing projects has been formulated and is currently with the ministry.”
He also said work under the World Bank-supported Urban Resilience Project was completed in 2024 and a trust named “Bangladesh Earthquake Safety Research” had been established, with Rajuk providing Tk5 crore and necessary equipment.
Under the trust, there are plans to assess around 5.13 lakh buildings in Dhaka in phases through visual assessment, preliminary engineering assessment and detailed engineering assessment, he said.
According to the Rajuk chairman, high-rise buildings are not inherently risky; rather, faulty designs and construction on filled-in water bodies are the principal sources of risk. He stressed the need for all agencies, including Wasa, Desco and Rajuk, to work in coordination under a single central authority.
Speaking at the discussion, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Civil Engineering Prof Mehedi Ahmed Ansary compared the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, saying that although the Chile earthquake was around a thousand times stronger than the Haiti earthquake in terms of energy, the number of casualties was comparatively lower — solely because of building code enforcement.
In his view, beamless buildings are not safe, yet many architects avoid beams for aesthetic reasons.
Prof Ansary said areas such as Bashundhara, Jolshiri and Aftabnagar were being developed on filled, weak soil, where improving soil quality before constructing buildings was essential.
Citing an example from India where a six-storey building tilted 15 degrees because of weak soil despite having 20-metre piles, he said, “Bangladesh has a historical risk of earthquakes measuring between magnitude 7 and 8, while the recurrence period of a magnitude-7 earthquake is around 150 years, meaning one could occur at any time.”
Referring to the Rana Plaza collapse, Prof Ansary said, “Substandard reinforcing rods, the construction of additional floors and vibrations from generators inside the building were responsible for the disaster. Although the design required concrete strength of 3,000 PSI, tests found it to be only 1,200 PSI.”
To ensure accountability among engineers, he recommended provisions for imprisonment and fines for faulty designs, while also suggesting that buildings could be allowed to remain in use through fines or strengthening measures, known as retrofitting, instead of being demolished.
Prof Adil Muhammad Khan, executive director of the Institute for Planning and Development (IPD), said, “Piling alone on weak soil does not ensure a building’s safety because, during an earthquake, liquefaction or amplification can cause a building to collapse despite strong piling.”
He alleged that housing projects continued to be developed one after another on weak, river-surrounded land without effective government intervention, while Rajuk was unable to stop them.
According to him, buildings can be made earthquake-resistant at an additional cost of just 5 to 10 per cent, but people who obtain approval for five-storey buildings and then construct 10 storeys are unwilling to bear even this modest additional expense.
Md Saleh Uddin, deputy director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, told the discussion, “No single agency can deal with an earthquake on its own. Rajuk, city corporations, the Public Works Department, the armed forces and all other relevant agencies must prepare in a coordinated manner.”
Recalling his experience of leading a rescue team during the 2025 Myanmar earthquake, he said, “If a major disaster occurs in Bangladesh, we do not even have adequate preparations to accommodate foreign rescue teams when they arrive. Forty-one fire stations around Dhaka have been kept prepared, while a special rescue team equipped with necessary gear has been kept ready in Purbachal.”
Dhaka Reporters Unity General Secretary Mainul Hasan Sohel said, “There are allegations that buildings in Dhaka have been constructed with more floors than their approved height with the assistance of unscrupulous Rajuk officials. A special committee should be formed to identify such buildings.”
Speakers at the discussion warned that earthquakes do not directly kill people; rather, deaths occur when defective buildings collapse.
They recommended strict compliance with the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC), ensuring accountability of engineers and architects, retrofitting old buildings, and preserving at least one bigha to one acre of open space for rescue operations within every half-kilometre area.
