The demolition of the 15th-storied Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) building in Dhaka’s Hatirjheel has started.
Housing and Public Works Minister SM Rezaul Karim started the demolition process on Wednesday (Jan 22).
Specialised teams of Rajdhani Unnayan Katripakkha, Fire Service, police and army were present at the spot.
Chattogram based contracting agency, Four Star is tearing down the building for Tk 12 million.
In April 2018, the Supreme Court ordered the BGMEA building be demolished. According to the order, the building was to be demolished sometime after April 12 this year.
The 15-storey building stands on a critical spot in Dhaka, blocking the water flow between Hatirjheel lake and Begunbari canal; and has been described by the Supreme Court as “a cancer in the Hatirjheel project.”
The High Court ordered the BGMEA to move forward with demolition work in April 2011. The association filed a leave to appeal against the verdict which was later dismissed by the top court.
In June 2016, the Appellate Division upheld the verdict ordering the demolition of the structure and told the BGMEA to bear the cost of demolition.
The RMG trade body lost its final legal battle on Mar 5, 2017, when the Appellate Division threw out a petition for a review of the verdict.
Later, the association sought a year’s extension to the latest deadline to demolish the building.
Following the plea, the Supreme Court, in April 2018, granted BGMEA one more year to demolish its office building.
The court had ordered the association to submit an undertaking with a condition that the BGMEA will not seek another extension after the one it currently applied for expires.