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RAJUK starts BGMEA Building demolition


Published : 22 Jan 2020 09:59 PM | Updated : 02 Sep 2020 02:04 AM

Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) on Wednesday started demolishing the building of garment factory owners' organization- Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA)- in Hatirjheel area of the capital. Housing and Public Works Minister S M Rezaul Karim inaugurated the demolition work of the building after 12:30 pm yesterday.

Experts from the RAJUK, Fire Service, Police and Army were present there. The main demolition work of the building will begin on Monday (January 26). The demolition work was inaugurated on Wednesday but it will take another 4-5 days to start working in full swing, said Messrs. 4 Star Enterprise. They will start breaking down the building following religious rituals. From Monday, the company will start work.

The building will be broken down manually. However, hazardous goods and glassware must be removed before its demolition. All parts of the broken BGMEA building will be taken to Dolaipar. Six months have been given to the contractor company M/s Four Star Enterprise for this purpose.

The Housing and Public Works Ministry has set up two monitoring committees to oversee the matter. Nasirullah Khan, director of M/s Four Star Enterprises, said “Earlier, we had demolished an 18-storey building and removed it. We have that past experience. We are more aware of the demolition of this building”.

"We are getting adequate support here from Rajuk. They are cooperating with us. 'We will send the broken parts to Dholaipar,” he added. After the High Court ruling, Rajuk was responsible for demolishing the building to protect the water flow and environment of Hatirjheel.
After completing all the legal process, the government has started to demolish the building.

The highest court had given time to move the BGMEA building on April 12 last year. As a result, the RAJUK locked the building on April 16 last year to implement the directive. Towards the end of 2006, construction of the BGMEA building at Hatirjheel was completed. Environmentalists opposed the existing of the building since its construction. The matter was later raised at the court.

On April 3, 2011, the High Court referred to the BGMEA building as 'a cancer in the Hatirjheel project'. The court ordered the building to be demolished within 90 days of its verdict. BGMEA appealed against the Leave to Appeal, which was dismissed on June 2, 2016 in the Appellate Division.