Ten officials of the Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) were suspended yesterday for negligence of duty leading to interruption in power supply during the light and sound show at the Lalbagh Fort yesterday evening.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the show yesterday.
Nazrul Hasan, managing director of DPDC, confirmed the news of suspension of the 10 DPDC officials to the Dhaka Tribune. The DPDC also formed a three-member committee to investigate the incident.
The suspended officials are complaint supervisors Abdul Hakim for Narinda and Lutfor Rahman for Swamibagh; sub-assistant engineers Amir Hossain, Sayeed Ahmed and Morshedul Hoque for Narinda, and Md Rokibul Hasan for Swamibagh; Executive Engineer Md Rokibul Islam for Narinda; Md Fazlul Karim, executive engineer in charge of grid 2 in Narinda; and executive engineers Md Ziaul Hasan for Lalbagh and Md Mohib-ul-Alam for Swamibagh.
BSS reports: Inaugurating the show, Hasina expressed hope that it would be a new attraction for the visitors of the historic Lalbagh Fort. She said visitors would be able to know about the centuries-old history of Dhaka through the technology-aided attractive presentation.
The preparations of the show cost Tk2.83 crore.
Later, the premier along with the audience enjoyed the spectacular light and sound show that featured special lighting effects onto the building’s facade synchronised with a recorded script and music to dramatise the fort’s history.
At a press conference, Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor said there would be two 30-minute shows every day, except Sundays one between Maghrib and Esha prayers and another after Esha prayers between mid-November and mid-March.
Tickets for the show cost Tk20 in addition to Tk10 entry fee for Bangladeshis, Tk100 for visitors from the Saarc countries and Tk200 for others, he said.
He added that such shows would be introduced in many of Bangladesh’s 448 archaeological sites, including Paharpur Bouddha Vihara, Bagerhat Shaatgombuj Masjid, Kantajee temple and Mahasthangarh.
Eminent writer-poet Syed Shamsul Haq has penned the Lalbagh Fort show script recited by cultural personalities Shimul Yousuff and Asaduzzaman Noor.
The construction of Lalbagh Fort began in 1678 by Mughal Subedar Prince Muhammad Azam Shah, son of Emperor Aurangzeb. Azam Shah later became the emperor himself, but his successor Shaista Khan did not continue the work.