Government must purge RAJUK before a big quake

Dhaka has felt another jolt of 4.2 magnitudes with the epicentre in Tangail, 59km northwest of Dhaka Seismic Centre, according to media reports.

Dhaka has been withstanding a series of minor to medium earthquakes in recent months.

Bangladesh, which sits on the fault lines of three tectonic plates — Indian, Eurasian and Burmese, may face huge disaster and see 150,000 people killed, fear experts in case of major jolts.

In between 2008 to 2012, Dhaka and its surrounding districts have witnessed six earthquakes of medium strength.

Over eight lakh buildings in Dhaka will surely end up in destruction if there is an earthquake of over 7 magnitudes due to unplanned and unsafe urbanisation by unscrupulous authorities.

Which phone numbers are going to be hunted most in case of an earthquake of such high magnitude? It may be a million-dollar question for the people trapped in buildings destroyed in earthquakes in future.

Dhaka has seen the struggle of peer capitals like Ankara and Damascus during the devastating earthquakes which killed 55,000 people alone in Turkiye in February this year.

Consequently, the Recep Tyyip Erdogan government arrested nearly 100 errant building contractors.

Dhaka — the mega city ever-expanding to the east and southwest without proper plan — can immediately be proactive in pursuing a sustainable future, keeping an eye on possible tremors that may turn the city into a junkyard.

If the capital has an iota of possible danger of major earthquakes, it should take lessons from Ankara before it is too late.

The buildings are mushrooming on land developed on the marshy and low-lying areas, violating the environmental regulations. Politics of development may turn into politics of destruction.

Infrastructures, which are poorly constructed but heavily publicized for bagging votes in the next election, may not bode well for the ruling quarters.

Weak buildings may collapse on those who wanted to cash the corruption-infested buildings.

A major quake will expose the vulnerability of development projects which are being used as political cash cows for the ruling quarters.

We urge the government to contain corruption in the construction sector, stop gagging media reports over building code violations and put a leash on the landbankers who buy and sell land, developing them illegally.