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The capital city is growing with a faulty transport structure resulting in nagging congestion, which cost the government Tk 900 crore a year, sources in the Dhaka Transport Coordination Board said.
   A high communications ministry official said the roads in the Dhaka metropolitan area were constructed by different organisations, but constructions and designs of the roads were not well planned in line with traffic engineering.
   ‘Haphazard plans or projects and their implementations prompt hazardous growth of the city, resulting in a faulty transport structure,’ said the official, adding that the government had taken up the Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan where transport structure for the newly urbanised areas was not emphasised as much as required.
   ‘Although the government envisaged a five-year Dhaka Urban Transport Project in 1997–98 involving Tk 1,200 crore, it had to cut down on the funds to Tk 800 crore after two years and a half because of slow implementation.’ Only 16 per cent work of the project was completed during the period, he said.
   The government has also taken up the Strategic Transport Planning for future transport system in Dhaka.
   A survey conducted by the United States-based Louis Barger Group for the transport planning shows that the population of the city is now 19 million, which is projected to reach 36 million in 2024.
   The survey says at least 2.50 lakh people in the city move every peak hour while at least one lakh vehicles carry the passengers on 3,002km city road network.
   The transport planning team leader, David H Jarrett, said, ‘Land use functions are now separated from transport planning functions. Rajuk has developed the structure plan and it is in responsible for its implementation.
   ‘The transport functions are left with the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, Dhaka Transport Coordination Board, Dhaka City Corporation and Dhaka Metropolitan Police.’
   Lack of coordination between land use planning and the transport planning is evident in the matter in which transport development takes place, they planning team members said.
   The transport planning, earlier in its draft, recommended the formulation of a unitary agency to achieve integration between transport planning and land use development.
   But the provision for the unitary body was dropped in the final report, submitted to the government on October 31 for approval, under pressure from the metropolitan agencies, sources in the transport coordination board, the city corporation and Rajuk said.
   Experts at the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, Dhaka Transport Coordination Board, Dhaka City Corporation, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha, and the Dhaka Metropolitan Police also talked about the problem as being the reason behind tailback in the city.
   They said poor enforcement of traffic rules, absence of modern signals, inadequate and insufficient road signs, absence of modern equipment for quick removal of out-of-order vehicles from roads, indiscriminate parking at busy points, lack of awareness of traffic rules, chaotic situation at bus terminals on arterial roads, road encroachment, piling of construction materials on roads, and no use of footbridge and underpasses also contributed to the tailback.
   They said insufficient road network and unorganised route arrangement, insufficient parking spaces, lack of coordination in road digging, water stagnation, level crossings inside the city, insufficient underpasses and footbridges, over-population, centralisation of administrative structure and commercial shopping centres and the absence of separate transport network for different modes are behind the faulty traffic system.

High-rise buildings, now being constructed in different parts of the city, lack safety features and endanger both adjoining houses and public thoroughfares.
   Many of the high-rises have been constructed without proper planning, ensuring adequate structural strength, considering environmental factors and taking the proper safety measures, said experts.
   As the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) is still waiting to be given legal status, unscrupulous developers are allegedly constructing multi-storey buildings in violation of public safety norms.
   The building code should be made mandatory to ensure the safety and welfare of the people, especially in urban areas, said experts.
   They stressed the need for strict enforcement of the code to check the mushroom growth of high-rises in the capital.
   Although the BNBC is yet to be made mandatory, real estate developers and builders have always been encouraged to go by the code. But only a few of them have complied with its provisions, said sources in Rajuk.
   The code does not allow construction of any building over six storeys without an elevator.
   Any building with 10 storeys or more should have elevators spacious enough to carry patients on stretchers, according to the code. The code also makes stand-by generators for elevators mandatory.
   Such provisions, which have not been specified in Rajuk’s rules, are now routinely flouted by developers in the city.
   An official of the Rajuk, said that according to the code, in a high-rise 3 to 4 stairways are needed, but many owners do not construct stairs at all, and if they do so they do not locate it in the places specified by the guidelines.
   There are allegations that many multi-storied buildings in the city do not have enough space and facilities for disposal of solid waste. In most cases, they do not have fire-fighting equipment.
   Professor Nazrul said most of the high-rise buildings do not take proper safety measures.
   He said most of the buildings do not have sufficient fire-fighting equipment and emergency exits like fire escapes.
   According to fire safety law of the Fire Fighting and Civil Defence Department, every high-rise and commercial building has to take the clearance of the Fire Service before the design is approved, but there are allegations that in most of the cases the clearance was given without proper inspection.
   An official of Fire Service said only 27 people in the country are involved in charge of inspecting buildings, and there are only 4 persons in the city to inspect the huge number of high-rises and commercial buildings. It is very difficult to inspect the buildings properly without adequate manpower.
   Mehdi Ahmed, associate professor of BUET, said high-rises have not been constructed according to the land use plan as the owners are not following the BNBC. Most of the buildings are built without leaving enough space between them and the adjacent buildings, so a sudden fire can spread rapidly to neighbouring structures. Moreover, improper use of land makes the buildings more vulnerable of earthquakes.
   Preparation of the national building code was initiated in 1991 and took three years to be completed.
   The experts involved with preparing it concentrated on safety, serviceability, health, sanitation, etc.
   They also gave special attention to social and economic conditions and available technology.
   They took into account the environmental, meteorological, geological and other related factors.
   Many high-rises have been built in places where buildings with more than one storey are not allowed.
   ‘It would to be better if the government selected some places especially for the high-rise buildings,’ he said.
   In some places like Priyangan, Sobhanbagh and Japan Garden City, the high-rises have been crowded together in inadequate space, which has a bad impact on the environment and creates traffic jams, he said
   The majority of the multi-storeyed buildings have been built in the last two decades, except the ones in Motijheel.
   Dr Munaz Ahmed Noor, another associate professor of BUET, said nobody knows whether the high-rises are being constructed as per the guidelines or not, as there is no monitoring.
   He underscored the need for formation of a regulatory body to inspect the designs and monitor the construction work.
   Secretary of the Housing and Public Works Department, Iqbal Uddin Chowdhury, told New Age on Wednesday that the BNBC is now waiting for approval of the parliament, and is likely to be placed in the next session.
   After parliamentary approval, the concerned authority will be able to take legal action against those developers who are violating the code.

The prices of coarse variety of rice, milk and free-range chicken increased further in the city kitchen markets over the past week.
   The prices of vegetables, except for onions, showed a decline because of an increased supply of winter produce.
   Traders said the finishing stock of the coarse variety of rice before the new harvest pushed the rice price up. An increased consumption of chicken during the wedding season increased the price of chicken and milk was marked up on the claim of an increased import cost.
   The coarse varieties of rice such as Pari and Brri-28 sold between Tk 18 and Tk 19.5 a kilogram on Friday; the price ranged between Tk 17.5 and Tk 18 the week before.
   ‘The stock of coarse rice runs out during this period and prices go up,’ said Bilu Mia, a trader at Karwan Bazar, on Friday.
   He said although the aman harvest began, but it would make little impact on city market sales as aman consummation was very low in city and neighbouring areas.
   Milk prices continued to go up over the week. Diploma brand milk was retailed at Tk 300 a kilogram in the past week; the price was Tk 290 the week before.
   The prices of other brands of instant milk and cereals increased by Tk 5 to Tk 10 a pack of 400 grams or a kilogram, the traders said.
   ‘The distributors told us that import cost had increased, which prompted them to increase the prices of the products,’ said Abu Taher, a trader at New Market.
   ‘Demand for free-range chicken also increased because of an increased number of weddings after Eid. This has pushed the chicken price up,’ said a trader at Kaptan Bazar where on Friday, a free-range chicken weighing 700 to 800 grams sold between Tk 115 and Tk 120 against the price between Tk 90 and Tk 100 the week before.
   Winter agricultural produce has pushed down the prices of vegetables. Beans sold between Tk 30 and Tk 32 a kilogram at the Shantinagar kitchen market on Friday; the price ranged between Tk 40 and Tk 45 the week before.
   Long aubergine sold between Tk 28 and Tk 32 against the price between Tk 32 and Tk 36 the week before; a small cauliflower sold between Tk 13 and Tk 15 against its earlier prices between Tk 15 and Tk 20.
   Onions sold between Tk 40 and Tk 42 a kilogram, as the supply from India remained short. The traders said it would take at least two weeks for the local harvest to hit the market.
   Fish prices remained somewhat unchanged, at the high level they were the week before.

Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan formed a human chain and held a rally at Karwan Bazar on Friday demanding conservation of the Karwan Bazar Children’s Park and the opening of Pantha Kunja for people.
   Speakers at the rally said a section of influential people were grabbing the park, but none was there to prevent the encroachers and conserve it for the children.
   They said Unilever, a multinational company, got the possession of Pantha Kunja for beautification. But the common people have no access to the park.
   The speakers also urged the city corporation to consider it from people’s perspective instead of business perspective, and let people use the space as no other open space is available in the area.
   With the organisation vice-president, Nazrul Islam, in the chair, the rally was also addressed by its leaders Mohidul Haque Khan, Mihir Biswas, Badiul Alam Majumder, and Nazmul Ahsan.

Three crore litres of water of the Chittagong Water Supply and Sewerage Authority are reportedly stolen a day in the name of systems loss, sources in the water agency said.
   The agency produces 17 crore litres of water against the demand for 40 crore litres a day, and incurs losses of about Tk 13 crore a year for malpractice.
   More than 4962.41 crore litres of water were produced by the agency in 2004-05 and the bills were prepared for about 3408.50 crore litres. The rest of water was shown as systems loss.
   Sources said 10 per cent of water of the total production can be wasted due to obsolete machinery and leakages in the pipelines, but the current system loss is more than 5 crore litres of water which stands between 30 per cent and 32 per cent.
   At best 1.70 crore litres of water can be gone to waste per day due to the system loss and more than 3 crore litres of water are stolen, they said.
   Maksudul Hakim, chairman of Chittagong WASA, admitted that a section of dishonest workers and officials were draining the water through illegal connections.
   ‘Efforts are on to identify the officials and workers engaged with such malpractice, and five special teams have been formed to disconnect illegal water connections,’ the chairman said.

Speakers at a rally on Friday called upon the people to be united to establish rule of law.
   They also demanded punishment for the killers of the two senior assistant judges, Sohel Ahmed and Jagannath Pande, and Advocate Dilruba Papia, and journalist Goutam Das.
   At the rally organised by Nagarik Sanghati at Shahbagh, the speakers said activities of militant outfits made the country unsafe. The government was picking up few grass-roots level activists instead of the leaders of the militant outfits.
   Demanding security for all the judges, they said the militants were continuing their bomb attacks on the judges, but the government had not taken proper security measures. It should change its political mindset to combat the
   militancy.
   They said urged the administration to arrest the main accused in the Papia killing case. Violence against women was on the rise and the situation had reached such a condition that a lawyer who fought for woman rights was not spared.
   Referring the killing of journalist Goutam, they said if the killers go unpunished, the country’s democracy will be under threat.
   The organisation president, Atiqur Rahman, the rally which was addressed by Sharifuzzaman Sharif, Mashih Uddin Shaker, Ruhin Hossain Prince, Abed Raja, and Mihir Biswas.

A forum of writers and artists, Swabhumi, formed a 21-member committee for 2005–2007 on Friday at a meeting in the Bangla- desh Sushu Kalyan Parishad auditorium.
   Poet Asad Chowdhury has been made president, Bulbul Mohlanbashi vice-president and writer Mujtaba Ahmed Murshed general secretary for the new committee.
   Kamal Lohani, Professor Serajul Islam, Asaduzzaman Noor, Professor Syed Monjurul Islam, and cartoonist Sishir Bhattacharya were made advisers to the committee.

The World Wide Immigration Consultant Limited organised a seminar on the duties and further activities of the DV lottery winners on Thursday.
   The firm’s managing director Kazi Raqibul Islam gave advice to the DV-2006 winners on their further activities for visa.
   He suggested that the winners should remain watchful against fraudulent organisations and people that give false hopes and advice for visa.
   Raqibul said it became difficult to get visa easily these days and the winners would need to attend interview for visas.

Constable killed in Rajshahi road mishap
A police constable of the Boalia station in Rajshahi was killed when a Dhaka-bound bus from Chapainawabganj ran him over at Bindur Mor Tuesday night. The constable was Bahar Uddin, 50, of village Shahnagar in the Chatmohar police area in Pabna. The police said the constable was on duty on the highway and he was crossing the road. He died on the spot. The police held the bus and arrested the supervisor and the helper; the driver managed to get away.

Iranian
product expo
The Masud International Exhibition Company will hold a four-day fair, Iran Expo 2005, during November 22–25 at the Sonargaon Hotel. The Iranian Emporium will sponsor the event. Exporters and manufacturers of bitumen, float glass, textile, garments, leather products, carpets and some other goods will be on sale. The fair will remain open every day between 10:00am and 8:00pm.

Lions Club Int’l VP due today
The Lions Club International vice-president, Mahendra Amarasuriya, is due in Dhaka today on a four-day visit. He will address as chief guest the 10th founding anniversary of the Lions Club International District 315A2 at the Sonargaon Hotel on November 21. He will visit the National Martyrs’ Memorial at Savar. Other programmes include visiting Lions Eye Hospital, attending a news briefing, distributing wheel chairs and sewing machines among the people with disabilities.

Directive for
vehicles
All public vehicles have been asked to avoid the roads inside the cantonment from Shaheed Jahangir Gate to Staff Road between 7:00am and 10:30am, and 4:00pm and 9:45pm on November 21 on the occasion of Armed Forces Day, said a release of the Inter-Service Public Relations.

Human chain against Islamists
The Communist Party of Bangladesh youth front Bangladesh Juba Union on Friday put out a call for the people to boycott the Islamist militant groups socially. The Dhaka city Juba Union formed a human chain at Muktangan in the capital city urging that such militants should be boycotted in society. The organisation leaders alleged that the BNP-Jamaat alliance had been patronising the Islamist groups and had failed to take steps against them. Chaired by the city unit president, Asadullh Tito, the rally was also addressed by Mahbubul Islam and Gournga Lal Mallik. A procession followed the human chain.
— New Age