Developers ignore building code

The turning and entry point of the road that leads to Ahammadia Primary School at Nij Shahar residential area at Shulak Bahar under Panchlaish thana in the city. PHOTO: Zobaer Hossain Sikder

In 80 per cent of the construction cases building code is not followed, a member of the Forum for Planned Chittagong said.

FPC members Engineer Subash Chandra Barua and Towhidul Islam blame lack of control with necessary monitoring and absence of an effective planning institution for this.

Besides, posing a threat to huge loss of lives and properties during natural calamities, particularly earthquake, such constructions also hinder development of the city, they said.

Construction goes on leaving little or no provisions for access, drainage, water, sewerage or garbage disposal in many areas of the city, they said.

Multi-storey buildings like apartments, hotels or community centres are being constructed without having sufficient parking space and very often occupying footpaths. They take the roads or sidewalks inside their boundary walls and narrow down nearby roads hindering movement of the commuters.

In many cases buildings are being constructed with additional storeys than the foundation is laid for. Sometimes constructions are made much before or ahead of the time required for completion defying the matter of durability. Many wretched ones are sometimes given new looks with erection of thin walls covering their real front views.

Thus they push lives of the residents of those structures into a risk.

Metal or engineering workshops are being set up in the residential areas creating noise pollution and blocking walkways with the materials they work on.

Of the three functions of development promotion, control and coordination, Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) has so far been able to make some success in development promotion while the rest two functions are hardly taken care of, sources said.

Town planners and experts said only the close monitoring and coordination among the CDA, Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) and development partners could play a vital role to address the problem and ensure proper growth of the city.

An architect said CDA lacks town planners and is run by an army official who has no so much knowledge about town planning. On the other hand, CCC has only one town planner while even a private property-developing firm has many, the architect added.

Zarina Hossain, an architect and town planner, said there were recommendations for restructuring CDA into Chittagong Planning and Development Authority (CPDA) with a full-fledged planning department to be headed by a chief planner and comprising of investment, strategic and local area planning sections including development control.

Proposals had also been put forward for the CPDA to play a coordinated role in the development process, Zarina added.

But, there was no further development of it, she said.