Accountability of professionals is very important in dealing with disasters: Mayor Tapas
Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Tapos said that engineers are an integral part of the development of civilization. The role of engineers in building a nation is undeniable. This seminar is to bring to the attention about the information of the victims of the earthquake that happened in Turkey. Mentioning professional accountability as a very important component the mayor said, Professionals need to stay up-to-date. If there are councils of doctors, lawyers but, there is no council of engineers.
On Saturday (March 11), the Mayor said so in his speech as the chief guest at the seminar titled ‘Earthquake Disaster Risk Reduction: Preparations and Actions’ organized by the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB).
He also said that if there is a BMDC code, its implementation and monitoring is necessary. If an incident happens, we think that on whom the responsibility can be passed. When any calamity occurs, all the agencies like Fire Service, RAB, City Corporation, Red Crescent, and RAJUK rush to the spot. In fact, many responsible people do not know who will work at the beginning of the disaster, The Building Construction Code-1993, prepared in 2020 if small calamities are not dealt with, dire situation like Turkey will be created.
He also said that the price of construction materials has increased many times due to which people are not interested in quality control As a result, engineers have to solve any problems going deeper into the problem. Then any disaster can be dealt with in future.
The IEB President Engineer Md. Nurul Huda said, engineers are the first to work in the field to deal with any disaster like Corona. Engineers play one of the most technical roles in government development.
General Secretary of IEB Engineer Md. Shahadat Hossain Shiblu’s welcome speech presented the main article in the seminar, Dr. Geotechnical Engineering and Earthquake expert. Engineer Mehdi Ahmed Ansari.
Speakers at the seminar said that preparedness is very important to prevent the risk of earthquakes. Especially proper planning of the city is to be ensured. Earthquake damage can be reduced by taking precautions in building construction. Construction of buildings must follow the local city codes. Besides, it is also necessary to force the surveillance of all government agencies. Earthquake damage can be reduced if building owners cooperate with the government. There is no substitute for earthquake training. Buildings must be earthquake resistant in educational institutions and hospitals. Engineers at the seminar also invited others to build ‘disaster resilient’ areas and create ‘model areas’.
IEB Vice President Engineer SM Manjurul Haque Manju, Engineer Md Nuruzzaman, Khandkar Manjur Morshed, Assistant General Secretary Ronak Ahsan, Engineer Abul Kalam Hazari, Dhaka Center Chairman Engineer Md Abul Hossain, Secretary Kazi Khairul Basar, Civil Engineering Department of IEB were also present in the seminar. Chairman Professor Dr. Engineer Munaz Ahmed Noor, Urban Resilience Project, UNDP Consultant Brig. General (Retd) Engineer Ali Ahmed Khan, RAJUK’s Urban Resilience Project Director Engineer Abdul Latif Helali, Engineer Amit Kumar Chakraborty, Engineer Nazrul Islam, Engineer Soumitra Kumar, Engineer Wahid Huda and various departments and centers of IEB were present in the seminar.