The basements of many commercial buildings in the capital are being used as warehouses, markets and offices, although they are intended for car parking, with the risk of explosions as various gases are generated and accumulate there for not having adequate ventilation.
Many building owners earn millions of taka every month by renting the parking spaces for these uses, while most of these spaces do not have proper ventilation facilities for not following the proper structural plan.
During recent visits to various areas of the capital, including Patuatuli, Islampur, Gulistan, Bangshal, Banglamotor, Mirpur, basements were found to be used as markets, warehouses, workshops and offices.
Restaurants were also found in many basements of buildings in the capital.
Building explosions have recently become a much-discussed concern in the country, especially after two building explosions occurred within a short interval, one near Science Laboratory Pass and the other in Siddique Old Dhaka Bazaar near Gulistan in the capital, killing at least 30 people. people and dozens of injured.
According to officials, 14 similar explosions have been reported since 2014 and the gas was blamed for causing them, as agencies did not find any explosive substance that caused the blasts.
About 10,000 to 12,000 new building plans are approved every year and many owners use their basements for purposes other than those designated in violation of the approved plans, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha officials said.
According to Rajuk officials, the agency does not have enough manpower to monitor whether the basements of buildings are being used for the stipulated purposes.
According to experts, there is no legal scope to use the basements for commercial purposes and this is due to the negligence of the government authorities involved.
They mainly blamed the Rajuks for the irregularity and the city corporations for issuing business licenses for business establishments in the basements.
Professor Mominur Rahman of the chemical engineering department at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology recently said: “If any basement does not have sufficient ventilation facilities and the air is confined, explosions could occur in case of of fuel, gas leaks and fire. be there.’
“In particular, basement restaurants can be very dangerous if they are not well ventilated as the kitchen needs fire and gas in Dhaka city,” he said.
If any basement, Mominur also said, is used as a car park and the air is confined by not having proper ventilation, they will have a greater chance of explosions, since each car carries fuel or gas, or both .
He said that many people did not follow the basement plan given by the Rajuk and it was also difficult for the Rajuk to supervise all the basements due to lack of sufficient manpower.
Urban planner and architect Iqbal Habib said recently that Rajuk officials had no authority to give permission to use basements as shops or markets.
“Only the President of Rajuk can approve the special use of basements in extraordinary circumstances, but I don’t think the President has time to give such approvals,” he said.
The officials involved in extending this approval, he went on to say, should land in jail as it is totally illegal.
Iqbal Habib further said that the city corporations were also responsible as they provided business licenses to run businesses in the basements.
Rajuk Member for Development Control Tonmoy Das recently told New Age that they have given permission to some buildings to use basements as shops, but of course not to sell or store flammable items.
“We are making a list of the malls that are using the basements as markets without asking our permission. We are also identifying unauthorized basements in eight areas. We will have a complete list by March 16,” said the Rajuk member, and he added that if anyone has violated the condition Rajuk will have to face punishment through mobile courts.
He also said that they did not approve the construction of any commercial building without parking spaces.
Rajuk officials said their survey on unauthorized businesses in building basements would be completed by the end of March.
Asked about possible delays, Tonmoy said: “We have not yet extended the deadline for the survey. It could be extended as it would be difficult to cover the large area of 1,528 square kilometers in such a short time. Our members visit 350 buildings in day.’
He also said they had already identified 229 high-risk and 42 high-risk buildings in the capital.
In Chawkbazar area on Capital Jail Road, two basement floors of Haji Salim Tower, owned by Awami League’s Dhaka-7 legislator Haji Salim, were found to be on rent, while the commercial building had no parking.
When asked, Haji Salim’s son Irfan Selim, also a ward 30 councilor of the Dhaka South City Corporation, said they had taken all the necessary permissions, including the Rajuk, to rent out the basements as shops.
“We have all the papers in our office,” he said.
The government agencies involved blamed gas for the recent Siddique Bazar building explosion, but could not determine exactly which gas or mixture of gases was responsible for the explosion.
Jahangirnagar University urban and regional planning professor Adil Mohammed Khan said if anyone had received permission from the Rajuks in their building plans to run businesses in the basements, they should have taken permission in such a way illegal, as he could not do so following the legal procedure.
“If companies operate in basements, they can produce gases because they don’t have enough ventilation. This condition can trigger explosions and as a result, people may have to sacrifice their lives due to the negligence of the authorities,” explained Adil, also executive director of the Institute of Planning and Development.
He suspected that some Rajuk officials might receive illicit benefits from building owners for issuing faulty plans that posed risks.
“It is the duty of the municipal authorities to inspect the areas where they issue commercial licenses. A basement cannot be used for any commercial purpose except for car parking,” he said, adding that because of this many people are forced to park their vehicles on roads and footpaths, causing congestion traffic in the city.
Not only Haji Salim Tower runs businesses in the basements, the basement of GM Morning Sun Market in Patuatuli has warehouses, a courier office and glass shops, the basement of the newly built Bangshal Asiya Complex runs motorcycle spare parts shops, helmets and lubricants, while toy businesses operate in Chawkbazar Tower on Jail Road.
Clothing businesses run in the basements of Pir Yamini Market in the capital’s Gulistan area, near the Bangladesh Secretariat and Dhaka Trade Center in the Fulbaria area, while mobile accessories and businesses of services operate in the basement of Bangabandhu Patal Square Market in Gulistan.
There are several tile, sanitary ware and marble warehouses and shops also in the basements of various markets such as Arif Tower, Mozaffar Tower and Zaman Plaza in the Banglamotor area of the capital.
In the area, some workshops were found to be operating under the Alam Resturant, which caught fire a few months ago.
DSCC spokesperson and public relations officer Abu Nasher told New Age that they had given business licenses to the business entities after checking their addresses. After the chemical storage inferno at Chawkbazar that claimed 70 lives and left them disabled on February 20, 2019, the Cabinet Division on October 8, 2020 directed the authorities concerned to list of the chemical warehouses of the Old Town.
The DSCC authority has submitted to the Cabinet Division a list with a total of 1,924 chemical warehouses and shops for relocation from the old part of Dhaka.
DSCC officials said they had also suspended the business licenses of these business entities and thus the city corporation was incurring huge revenue loss.
