Govt begins safety inspection of commercial buildings in Dhaka

The government has started inspecting multi-storied commercial buildings (market buildings) in areas under the Dhaka North and South City Corporations to strengthen the building safety measures.

Initially, 11 integrated inspection and monitoring teams have been formed to inspect 1,072 commercial buildings in both city corporations to identify structural, electrical, fire safety, and other defects in the establishments.

Integrated inspection teams led by the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) started the inspection on Monday, said a press release.

The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) will be providing overall support for the smooth execution of inspection activities.

On the first day of inspection, the Gulshan Pink City Shopping Complex in Dhaka North and the Gausia Market in Dhaka South have been inspected by Team-6 and Team-9, respectively.

These inspection activities are being carried out through a new checklist containing 82 questions.

On the eve of the inspection from the capital’s Sromo Bhaban, Inspector General (IG) of DIFE Md Nasir Uddin Ahmed addressed the members of both inspection teams.

The DIFE IG said, “To identify structural, electrical, fire safety, and other defects in the establishments, the inspectors will inspect the multi-storied commercial building (market building) cordially and cooperatively with the establishments’ authorities.”

“Further action will be taken based on the inspection report.” DIFE IG added.

The integrated teams include members from the DIFE, the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defense, the Department of Environment, the Department of Public Works, the Department of Architecture, and the Department of Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited.