Decision on affected Gulistan building to be taken after 45 days

The decision on the affected Gulistan building will be taken after 45 days, said a member of the RAJUK probe committee on Friday morning.

The rescue operation of Fire Service and Civil Defence has been stopped at the six-storey Gulistan building in the capital on Friday morning. But the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) authority is carrying out propping work at the site to increase the load-bearing capacity of the building.

Traffic movements on both sides of the road in front of the damaged building remained closed to avoid further accidents.

RAJUK probe committee member Rangon Mondol said they are basically trying to prop up the building that means to stabilize the building temporarily. Later, they will decide whether the building will be repaired or demolished.

It will take one and half month to assess the condition of the building, he said this while visiting the site of the explosion on Friday morning.

A total of nine columns need to be propped up to give them support to ensure that the building is stable.

When asked about opening the road in front of the building, he said after propping, they will analyze how stable the building has become and how much vibration the building can withstand. Later, they will take a decision.

Deputy Director of Fire Service and Civil Defence (Dhaka division) Dinmoni Sharma said the rescue work is not going on at the site but they are here to respond at any kind of emergency. Besides, no one has come to us to claim that anyone is missing.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the blast rose to 22 as another patient on life support died at the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery on Thursday night.

More than 100 people were also injured in the explosion at a building in Gulistan’s Siddikbazar on Tuesday. Eight others undergoing treatment at the burn institute are in critical condition.