In reality, little has changed for the capital’s 18 million residents, who live cheek by jowl in 1.2 million buildings which mostly flout safety regulations. According to a report titled “State of Cities 2017: Housing in Dhaka” by Brac Institute of Governance and Development, around 95% of the buildings in Dhaka do not have any fire exit. “Buildings in Dhaka are constructed in an undisciplined way without keeping any open space or implementing the National Building Code,” Raihan Ahmed, a Brac research associate who worked on the report, told the Dhaka Tribune. “Authorities such as Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) and Fire Service and Civil Defence should be stricter in implementing the building code. “Otherwise, Dhaka will see a disaster in terms of fire incidents if any major earthquake jolts the city.”

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 18, 2019 18:56 UTC