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Published : 24 Nov 2025, 05:58 PM
Environment Advisor Syeda Rizwana Hasan has stressed the need for an immediate and coordinated action to minimise the potential impact of a major earthquake in Bangladesh.
Speaking at a seminar in Dhaka on Monday, organised by urban planning authority Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), she said all relevant government bodies needed to work together rather than act in isolation, noting that existing vulnerabilities leave many areas at serious risk.
“To minimise the damage from a major future earthquake, we must take coordinated action now. Not only RAJUK, every concerned agency has to work collectively.”
She added that the government should have the authority to intervene when necessary, including assessing risks to private properties and enforcing strict safety measures “in the interest of public safety”.
Rizwana called for greater public awareness and suggested RAJUK could use third-party organisations to begin risk assessments. She urged authorities to start survey work in neighbourhoods with the support of local residents.
“There is no room to wait. People need reassurance that the government is working to address earthquake risks.”
The advisor highlighted Old Dhaka as one of the most vulnerable areas due to hazardous chemical factories, dense population and widespread non-compliance with building codes. She urged the permanent relocation of chemical factories to safer zones and recommended that risk assessments begin immediately under special directives.
Criticising what she described as the slow implementation of government decisions, she said many safety measures remained stalled.
“Decisions often hang in the balance because they are not implemented,” she said. “RAJUK must be given the authority needed to ease the process.”
“What we need now is not panic, but planned, coordinated initiatives,” she added.
