A chunk of plaster fell off the ceiling in a room of Salimullah Muslim Hall at Dhaka University on Saturday afternoon, narrowly causing a major accident.
The incident took place in room no 142 of the century old dormitory.
One of the residents of the room, Islamic Studies student Sajjad Kadir said that such incidents occur frequently in SM Hall. He added that authorities repair the damage temporarily, however it soon returns to the same condition.
鈥榃e want a permanent solution from the administration,鈥� said Sajjad while other students added that such incidents have also become common in the hall.
Confirming the incident, Salimullah Muslim Hall Students鈥� Union vice-president Md Zayedul Haque said that the building, nearly a hundred years old, has become extremely vulnerable due to lack of renovation.
Plaster keeps falling off the ceiling regularly and during rain, water leaks into rooms, students鈥� lives are now at grave risk, he said. He added that the hall union had repeatedly demanded renovation, but the hall administration continued delaying, citing a 鈥淏UET inspection report鈥�.
Since no visible step has been taken, the students strongly urge the university authorities to begin immediate renovation work, otherwise they would be forced to launch a movement if prompt action was not taken.
Hall general secretary Sadman Abdullah said that the students held an emergency protest rally at the hall gate around 4:30pm following the incident.
鈥楲ater, we met the provost and the treasurer. The treasurer assured us that the process of repair work would begin from tomorrow. We informed the administration about the issue about around ten months ago, but no action was taken鈥�, he said.
Following the incident, the hall provost office issued a notice asking residents to submit by tomorrow the room numbers where ceiling or veranda plaster appeared risky.
The notice stated that the removal of such risky plaster would begin on an urgent basis.
