Dhaka University authorities have confirmed that none of the residential hall buildings are structurally at risk following inspections conducted after the recent earthquake.
Professor Dr M Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, treasurer of DU and chairman of the Post-Earthquake Risk Assessment Committee, provided the update at a press conference on Monday at the Professor Abdul Matin Virtual Classroom.
He detailed the renovation work in the residential halls and shared findings from the university-formed committee. “The expert reports have not concluded that any of our halls are uninhabitable or unsafe for occupancy. Students can continue staying in all our residential halls,” Professor Jahangir Alam said.
He explained that four technical sub-committees were formed on November 21 to assess post-earthquake damage, each including a professor from the Civil Engineering Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) as an expert member. The committee reports contained recommendations classified as short-term, medium-term, and long-term.
Based on these recommendations, 19 tasks have been identified. Immediate repair work has already begun on the damaged washroom blocks at Shamsunnahar Hall. The overhead water tanks in the damaged block are being emptied and replaced with plastic tanks on an emergency basis, with the work nearly complete.
According to expert assessment, a section of Salimullah Muslim Hall was identified as vulnerable. Repair work on the damaged steel props in the hall is expected to begin within the next day or two.
The reports also recommend Detailed Engineering Assessments (DEA) for several halls, a process that takes at least three months. Authorities said swift action will be taken once the DEA is completed to determine the long-term repair needs.
Repair work was completed in three halls: 167 of 175 rooms in Haji Muhammad Muhsin Hall, all 141 rooms in Shurjo Sen Hall, and all 121 rooms in Muktijoddha Ziaur Rahman Hall.
Earlier, to ensure students’ safety and mental well-being, all academic activities at DU were suspended from November 22 to December 6, and students were instructed to vacate the halls. The winter break was subsequently extended from December 6 to December 27.
