Pedestrians panic as glass rains down from Mohakhali building site

Glass panels have fallen from a building under construction in Dhaka’s Mohakhali, scattering debris near the street and raising concerns over safety measures at the site.

No one was injured in the incident at the building on Bir Uttam AK Khandakar Road.

The building is being constructed under the supervision of Assure Builders. 

People at the site said glass railings from the front and right side of the building came crashing down during strong winds on Saturday night.

But a worker at the site said some of the glass had not been fully secured, while other panels waiting to be installed had simply been propped up.

During a visit around 11:55am on Sunday, bdnews24.com saw workers gathering shards of broken glass from around the building as installation of new panels continued elsewhere on the structure.

Asked what had happened, the worker said: “They fell and broke in the wind during last night’s storm. Work is still going on, so some of the glass had been fitted but the nuts had not been tightened properly.

“Some other panels were waiting to be installed and had only been propped up. Those also fell and broke in the wind.”

Md Sohel, an Assure Group security guard at the site, played down the incident.

“It wasn’t anything major. The glass broke and fell because of the wind last night. It is being cleared away today,” he said.

However, a visit to the site found no visible safety netting or clear exclusion zone around the building to protect pedestrians from falling glass or other construction materials.

Workers were installing new glass panels even as others cleared away the debris.

Several people who regularly use the road questioned whether strong winds alone could explain the incident, saying proper precautions were necessary to prevent construction materials from falling onto pedestrians or vehicles.

They called for the safety arrangements at the site to be examined, including how the glass panels had been installed and secured.

Assure Group founder and chairman Md Sheikh Sadi could not immediately be reached for comment. 

His personal assistant Hafizul Islam told bdnews24.com the company had looked into the incident and described it as minor.

“It was a very minor matter. We have checked. One piece of tempered glass broke and fell,” he said.

“Nevertheless, the necessary measures are being taken.”