Our structural collapse lawyers recently posted an article on a deadly building collapse in Delhi, India. The article detailed some of the problems India is experiencing from a poorly supervised building boom as its economic prospects and urban populations expand faster than its regulatory and enforcement infrastructure.
Bangladesh, the old Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, is experiencing similar problems. Building permit and inspection requirements exist, but builders don’t always follow them. And government enforcement can’t keep pace with building activity, so construction often occurs without necessary inspection and oversight. Disaster sometimes follows in the wake of these lapses.
In the recent collapse of part of Circuit House Road in Ramna in the Dhaka district, officials are blaming faulty design, poor work practice, and failure to obtain required inspections for the collapse of a building foundation site. The building foundation collapse led to the cave in of part of nearby Circuit House Road. The road collapse has resulted in further cracking along the roadway and subsidence to nearby buildings. An old two-story building mere feet from the cave-in is in imminent danger of collapse. And officials say that other nearby buildings, including high rise residential towers, are in some danger.
The collapsed foundation site was a 33-foot ditch. When its pilings collapsed, part of the nearby road caved into the ditch. A planning official for the area stated bluntly that the foundation depth and pilings weren’t adequate for the planned high rise that was to be built at the site. Officials also noted that builders had not informed them in advance that they were commencing work as they were required to do. They also said that builders had not obtained the required safety inspections of the site prior to commencing work.
Residents in the adjacent high-rise towers panicked as the disaster unfolded. Surprisingly no one was injured from the major site collapse. Construction workers fled the scene immediately after the collapse, and the site owners could not be located after the disaster. The local planning commissioner said that legal action would be taken against them, presumably once they can be found.
The army’s corps of engineers moved in to shore up and secure the site. Leaking water supply lines were turned off to prevent further difficulties. Our structural collapse lawyers wish them success in their efforts. They have a major task ahead. The actions of the builders present a step-by-step illustration of what NOT to do in constructing a high rise.