Housing and Public Works Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan spoke at a seminar jointly organized by RAJUK and JICA at a hotel in the city today. Photo : PID

DHAKA, May 6, 2025 (BSS) - Housing and Public Works Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan today stressed the importance of ensuring that all buildings are safe, environmentally friendly, and resistant to disasters.

"An efficient and modern monitoring system should be developed to supervise and verify building quality during the construction stage, as the absence of such oversight often leads to fires and other disasters," he said.

"So, building owners, engineers, architects and contractors should all be aware," he added.

He made the remarks at a seminar titled, "Raising Public Awareness in Mitigating Risks of Building-Related Disasters (Earthquake and Fire)," jointly organized by RAJUK and JICA at a city hotel, said a press release.

The adviser asked the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) to properly discharge its responsibilities in constructing safe buildings. 

Adilur Rahman Khan said that in today's seminar, a strong action plan can be determined through the exchange of knowledge and experience which will act as a guideline for the implementation of future action plan.

With RAJUK Chairman Eng Md. Reazul Islam in the chair, Housing and Public Works Secretary Md. Nazrul Islam was present as special guest.

Nazrul Islam said a safe city will remain impossible if stakeholders fail to comply with the law, regardless of how strict the regulations may be.

"There is a prevailing culture of disregarding legal frameworks in our society, and this tendency is particularly high among the influential. As a result, RAJUK officials often find themselves helpless in many cases," he stated.

In cases of fires and accidents, there is no scope for RAJUK and other concerned to avoid responsibility, he added.

Reazul Islam said that RAJUK's campaign against non-design buildings is ongoing, which are being welcomed by the general public and their cooperation is being received.

JICA representative presented the outline of the Improvement of Design and Construction Quality for Resilience of Private Buildings (DCQR) project at the seminar, while Professor Dr Rakib Ahsan of Department of Civil Engineering, BUET made keynote presentation. RAJUK Member (Development) Harun Or-Rashid delivered welcome address.