Gulistan blast: 7-storey building constructed with permission for 5 floors

Owners of the Queen Café building in Gulistan, where an explosion last week claimed 23 lives, had permission for constructing only a five-storey commercial building but they built three commercial and four residential floors violating rules, said the technical committee formed by the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha to investigate in the accident.

In its report regarding the matter, the committee said the building owners should be prosecuted for violating rules and their licences for trade and utility services should be cancelled to discourage other building owners in Dhaka to violate rules.

Technical Committee Convener Major (retd) Engineer Shamsuddin Ahmed Chowdhury told The Business Standard, "Visiting the scene, we found that the owners have mixed two categories of floors – commercial and residential, which they were not supposed to do.

"Only the owners, designers and engineers can explain how they could do so. The building acquired its permit in 1983, and the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) was initiated around ten years later in 1993. They might have followed another guideline as BNBC did not exist then."

He also said, "Without Rajuk's permission, no building owners can obtain trade licence or utility connections. Basement of a building must have free spaces and a proper ventilation system for letting in natural light and air. Making warehouse in the name of a multi-storey commercial building is a violation of rules."   

"The basement of building is typically used as parking or open space, but the owners of Queen Café building used it as a tiles warehouse and market."  

Major (retd) Engineer Shamsuddin Ahmed Chowdhury also said Rajuk is entitled to approve the design of a building and monitor whether it is maintained or not. If the guidelines are not followed, then Rajuk can oppose of the construction and even shut it down. 

However, the Rajuk technical committee chief did not reply to the question whether Rajuk officials ever visited the building before the blast or did the authority send any notice to the owners for violating the rules earlier.

The committee report made a few suggestions to reconstruct the building as nine out of 25 of its beams were damaged.