If we cannot deal with small crises, catastrophic situations will arise: Mayor Taposh

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Fazle Noor Taposh said on Saturday that Dhaka will have to face catastrophic situations like the recent earthquake in Turkey if authorities here cannot deal with small crises.

He also emphasised implementing building codes in Dhaka at a seminar titled 'Earthquake Disaster Risk Reduction: Preparations and Actions' organised by the Institution of Engineers Bangladesh (IEB).

Mayor Taposh said, "If an incident happens, we try to blame others. When a disaster occurs, everyone rushes there— the fire service, RAB, city corporations, Red Crescent, and Rajuk. However, many responsible people are unaware of who should work first."

Mayor Taposh said that engineers need to have professional accountability and stay up-to-date. There is a council of doctors, and lawyers, but there is no council of engineers.

He also said that the price of construction materials has increased many times, so people are reluctant about the quality. In this case, engineers must solve the problem to deal with any future disasters.

The Building Construction Code-1993 was planned in 2020 but not implemented properly. 

Md Nurul Huda, IEB president, said, "Engineers are the first ones to deal with any catastrophe like Covid-19. They play an important role in the government's development."

Md Shahadat Hossain Shiblu, general secretary of the IEB, gave a welcome speech, while Geotechnical-Earthquake Engineer Dr Mehedi Ahmed Ansary, presented the main article.

Speakers at the seminar also said that preparedness is very important to prevent the risk of earthquakes.

Mentioning that educational institutes and hospitals must be earthquake resistant, they said that it is possible to reduce the damage from the earthquake with the cooperation of building owners.