The Minister of Science and Technology Architect Yeafesh Osman said that whether there was negligence in the collapse of the building of the Nuclear Research Institute will be investigated. He said, we will also look into our officials who are involved in the work of this building. I will find out how much they have been negligent. It is basically a matter of the contractor, we have nothing here though. However, we will look into everything.
The minister expressed his feelings after inspecting the collapsed 12-storey building of Atomic Energy Research Institute located at Ganakbari in Savar’s Ashulia on Saturday (March 11) afternoon.
He also said that we have three such complexes; in Chittagong, Sylhet and Mymensingh. It is not that serious. When the normal height is higher, two heights are trouped. Unfortunately they didn’t notice if one was right on top of the other. If not, it can slip. In fact, this is what happened in this case. The roof was not even casted; some beams were being casted nearby when the incident took place. After seeing the whole thing, I understand that there is some negligence.
He said, the decision we have made now is that the contractor will clean all the collapsed parts and work again. And later it has been asked to ensure that it works properly. So, that this kind of incident does not happen again.
While asked whether any inquiry committee has been formed, he said, an inquiry committee has been formed here. That’s what we’re here for today. I saw everything. And my people are going to the hospital and looking after the injured.
About the activities of the building, he said, it is a very important building. Research and training work will be done here along with a cancer hospital. Earlier we only tested for cancer, but here the disease will be diagnosed and treated. The most important thing is that we can reduce the cost of treatment abroad to a large extent through this hospital. We are trying to do similar things in eight other places. As if we can provide this kind of treatment.
Senior Secretary of Science and Technology Ministry Ziaul Islam, Director General of Atomic Energy Research Institute Debashish Pal, Senior Scientific Officer of Atomic Energy Commission Munjurul Hasan and other officials were present during the inspection.
According to the Atomic Energy Commission sources, this is the Pet City and Cyclotron installation project. The Atomic Energy Commission under the Ministry of Science and Technology is implementing this project. This is the building of the medical center for diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients through atomic technology.
It may be noted that, on Friday (March 10) afternoon, the 12-storey under-construction roof of the building collapsed. About seven workers were injured, including one seriously.