No DU halls at structural risk after expert evaluation, authorities say
DU treasurer and chairman M Jahangir Alam Chowdhury detailed repair works on the residential halls and reports from the university-formed committees, emphasising that no hall was deemed uninhabitable according to the expert evaluation.
Dhaka University (DU) authorities have announced that none of its residential halls pose structural risks following the recent earthquake, allowing students to resume staying there.
M Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, DU treasurer and chairman of the post-earthquake risky building monitoring committee, shared the development at a press conference held this afternoon (22 December).
He detailed repair works on the residential halls and reports from the university-formed committees, emphasising that no hall was deemed uninhabitable according to the expert evaluation.
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Four technical sub-committees were formed after the earthquake on 21 November to assess damages, he said, adding that each committee included a professor from the civil engineering department of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) as an expert member. The reports included short-term, medium-term, and long-term recommendations.
A decision was made to undertake a total of 19 tasks based on the recommendations of the four committees, Jahangir said. Among these, immediate repairs were decided for Shamsun Nahar Hall's damaged washroom blocks. Meanwhile, the work to replace the overhead water tank of the damaged washroom block with plastic water tanks on an emergency basis is nearly complete.
Jahangir further said that a portion of Salimullah Muslim Hall has been identified as vulnerable according to expert evaluation and repair work on the damaged steel props of that hall will begin shortly.
The report recommended detailed engineering assessments (DEA) for several halls, he said, mentioning that some halls require DEA, which takes at least three months.
He also informed that repair work in three halls is nearly complete. Repairs in 167 rooms in Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall; all 141 rooms in Surja Sen Hall; and all 121 rooms in Muktijoddha Ziaur Rahman Hall have been completed.
Earlier, academic activities remained suspended from 22 November to 6 December for students mental well-being and post-earthquake inspections. It will continue followed by winter vacation until 27 December.
