Rajuk starts demolishing BGMEA building

The Dhaka city development authority Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) today started the demolition of the 15-storied Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) building, which was constructed illegally on Hatirjheel canal.  

Housing and Public Works Minister SM Rezaul Karim formally inaugurated the demolition around 12:30pm. 

"The main demolition process will start from next Monday (January 27). The building will be uprooted from the foundation to keep the water flow uninterrupted, said the minister. 

The building is being destroying manually as per Rajuk's decision. 

Four Star Group bagged the job to demolish the building through an open tender process by bidding Tk1.02 crore for the work.  

The project promises to complete the work within 6 months. 

The Four Star has rented an office in Dholaikhal area in the capital to manage the debris of the building, which will be taken to Chattogram afterwards, said the director of the Four Star.   

On April 16 last year, the Rajuk took control of the building and sealed it off after BGMEA evacuated throughout that day. 

The BGMEA constructed the building in 2006. Later, it was found that the building was built illegally. 

Following a news report in 2010, a High Court bench issued a suo-moto rule on the authorities asking why the building should not be pulled down. 

In 2011, the High Court ordered the government to demolish the building after finding that it was constructed violating laws meant to protect wetlands. 

Terming the building a cancer in the Hatirjheel project, the High Court said in its verdict that if the building is not taken down immediately, it will have an adverse effect not only on the Hatirjheel but on the entire Dhaka city. 

On April 2, 2018, the Appellate Division declared that the building should be demolished by April 11, 2019 and took an undertaking from the BGMEA that it would not plead any further for time extensions. 

The city witnessed the demolition of such a high-rise building 12 years ago when the Rangs Tower in the Tejgaon area was dismantled. Several workers died when some parts of the building collapsed during the demolition work.