A Father’s Worry and the Harsh Reality
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I have an eight-month-old daughter. I worry a lot about her. In which city should I leave her? This city is a pit of death. I’ll leave out the road and the street. Is the house we live in safe? Even though I’m a civil engineer, my father didn’t want to see the detailed plans when he bought the flat. I had nothing to do, either. The concept of “risk” is trivial to us today, in the face of hardship and opportunity.
The Misconception About Civil Engineering in Bangladesh
Most people in our country believe that civil engineering is a lucrative profession. In this country, while building owners are ready to spend crores of taka to build a simple building, having a building designed by a good consultant is a luxury for them. When we talk about soil testing, our eyes go wide. There are more than 350,000 buildings in Dhaka city, of which the majority are three to six-story buildings. And most of these buildings have been built without any detailed plans. Building 5-6 story houses on plots of 2 to 5 kattah is now a piece of cake for masons.
But if the homeowner wants to get the design done by a consultant, the masons get angry. They believe that their practical experience is superior, while engineers have only studied books to become engineers. To me, this is both insulting and laughable. Soil testing is considered trivial by them. Masons claim they can tell just by looking at the soil whether it’s natural soil or filled soil. If it’s natural soil, building 5-6 stories with a shallow foundation is no problem for them. However, only 35% of the soil in Dhaka city is good or strong soil. Almost all of what we call Extended Dhaka is filled with sand. Does a building still stand there? I agree, the building may stand, but for how long?
Ignoring Safety Codes and the Risk Ahead
How long will these buildings be able to protect their residents, considering that they ignore soil bearing capacity, do not follow BNBSC codes, and bear the extra weight of over-design?
What If a Major Earthquake Hits Dhaka?
If a major earthquake strikes, will this city be able to withstand these fragile structures? ‘‘In 2009, a survey of buildings was conducted within Dhaka City Corporation. It was found that if an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 occurs in the future, out of 326,000 buildings, 72,000 would collapse immediately. Only a very small number of buildings would remain completely intact. In addition, explosions in gas, electricity, and water lines would create a terrifying situation. A humanitarian disaster would also occur.”
According to the Ministry of Housing and Public Works in 2010, the number of vulnerable buildings in the capital was 80,000; this number has now increased significantly.
According to urban planner Iqbal Habib, 80% of the buildings in Dhaka city do not have proper approval from RAJUK, and of those that do, 60% have either modified the plan or constructed their buildings according to their own preferences.
Something we never think about. The idea of an earthquake does not even occur to us. According to A K M Maksud Kamal, Professor of Geology at Dhaka University and a disaster management expert with UNDP, ‘There are 12 earthquake faults within Bangladesh. Earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 can occur at all these fault locations. The Madhupur Fault near Dhaka is extremely dangerous. Major earthquakes occur from the faults roughly every 100 years. Large earthquakes occurred in Bangladesh in 1822 and 1918. Therefore, we are on the verge of another major earthquake.’
Are our building owners and the masons ready to handle this blow? No one can answer this question.
Poor Supervision in Construction Sites
I have been working in the building materials industry, specifically in the rods and cement sector, since completing my B.Sc in Civil Engineering. In the course of performing my professional duties, I often have to visit construction sites to handle client customer complaints. Based on that experience, if I talk about supervision, in one word I would describe it as ‘terrible.’ Houses built without a consultant are often left to chance, and whatever happens, happens. For supervision, some may employ an engineer, who in most cases is an inexperienced diploma engineer, and they usually follow the instructions of the head mason.
Even after all this, for those owners who hire an experienced B.Sc. or M.Sc. engineer for supervision, it is impossible to convey in words how difficult it is to command this working class. Nobody wants to listen. From the selection of rods and cement, maintaining concrete mix design, preventing shuttering errors, precise rod work, clear cover, lapping, corner reinforcement, column hooks, chairs, to blocks—no one worries about any of these. Masonry, plastering, salt resistance, and corrosion are even out of the question.
The Cost of Safety Is Actually Very Low
A common perception among ordinary people is that building a house under the supervision of an engineer is very expensive. They think that for constructing a four or five-story building, taking the help of an engineer is largely an arrogance and unnecessary. For them, planning and getting approval seems like an extra hassle, which is not only wrong but a big mistake.
Suppose a person wants to build a 6-story building on 3 kathas of land. Completing the entire building would cost at least 10 to 15 million taka. Conducting a soil test alone would cost only 10 to 15 thousand taka. Based on the soil test report, a consultant or their firm typically charges a minimum of 20 taka to a maximum of 50 taka per square to design the building’s architectural, RCC, electrical, and plumbing plans.So, the cost ranges from 43,000 Taka to 105,000 Taka. Moreover, assuming he had to supervise 15 times, an additional 15,000 to 30,000 Taka was spent. In other words, the total expenditure for the entire building’s safety and durability would be only 65,000 to 150,000 Taka, which is also cost-effective for construction work. Practically, the cost can be even lower, around 50,000 to 100,000 Taka, which is enough to cover the engineers’ part of the work, equivalent to just 1-1.5 tons of rebar in the current market. In comparison, it is often seen that a single mason uses at least 5-7 tons of rebar to complete this task.
Architects — The Most Neglected Professionals
I feel the most regret for my architect friends. In this country, perhaps no one feels as neglected as they do. Apart from a few lavish and high-rise structures, most of the time, no one seeks their consultancy. Yet, they were so thoughtful and talented.
Those of us who consider ourselves extremely clever are actually so foolish!
If anyone is clever, it is most of the developer companies in Bangladesh and the low-quality contractor firms. They do whatever they want, developing our land and building our dream homes. There is no proper design address and no guarantee of good materials.It is disgusting to even think about the things they do to us. We ourselves have no choice; while buying a flat, we neither have the means nor the time to inspect so many things. We only focus on the money. We hire contractors to build the house, rely on what they explain to us, and don’t even think about checking it ourselves.
The Role of Engineers and Architects in Building Safety
Currently, the number of civil engineer members in the Institute of Engineers Bangladesh is slightly over 10,200, while the number of members in the Institute of Architects Bangladesh is around 4,500. For consultancy, generally, it is unlikely to get better than them. This is because only these two institutions admit students who have at least completed a B.Sc or undergraduate degree from reputable universities. Later on, they are the ones who lead Bangladesh’s construction sector today.
Just imagine, at the very beginning of building your house, a geotechnical engineer tested the soil and suggested a strong foundation, then an architect designed a beautiful and mesmerizing house, and based on that, a civil engineer planned the entire house in detail, which was then realized under the supervision of a skilled engineer. And the cost of this entire process is only about 1-1.5% of your construction work!
Will this house be more solid and durable, or will the house estimated by the head mason’s intuition and experience be solid and durable?
A House Is More Than Just a Structure
A house, a building, each a dream, a dream intertwined with the lives of many people. We are carelessly playing with that dream. In whose hands are we placing our future? Where are we leaving our future? Is the responsibility only on the government and governmental institutions? How will we cover up our faults?
My article was published on November 23, 2019, under the title ‘ভবিষ্যৎ প্রজন্মকে কোথায় রেখে যাচ্ছি?’ on Jago News 24.com.
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