Engineers of the Public Works Department (PWD) have made good use of bamboo stumps in the repair and risk management of an ageing structure.
It is two months since the PWD engineers were called to inspect the vulnerable ground floor ceiling of the Old Building at Jessore General Hospital, but no steps were taken towards repairing it.
The plaster of the ceiling was falling off at a number of different places, exposing the supporting iron rods, while a serious crack became evident above the ground floor veranda. Now, as a section along the crack has tilted, the engineers have arranged for the installation of 10 bamboo stumps to prevent a possible collapse.
Cracks appeared on the roof of Jessore General Hospital's ground floor in late June Tauhid-uz-Zaman/Dhaka TribuneHospital staff and patients on the ground floor of the Old Building, which holds 30 beds, are reported to have been in a state of panic ever since the tilt became apparent on Saturday.
Shirin Sultana, a nurse at the hospital, told the Dhaka Tribune that she was startled to see the bamboo stakes supporting the fractured segment of the ceiling when she came to work on Saturday morning.
Resident Medical Officer Dr Waheduzzaman said the relevant PWD engineer was informed about the fracture in the ground floor ceiling two days prior to the last Eid-ul-Fitr.
PWD officials were again called on Saturday to assess the situation, and decided to support the ceiling with bamboo stumps.
Contacted for comment, PWD Sub-Assistant Engineer Tarikul Islam said: “Some beams in the ceiling are weak and there is a problem at the side of the veranda. But it is nothing to panic about. There is no need to move the patients. Only movement around the veranda should be avoided.”
An estimated cost for the urgent repair works had been forwarded to higher authorities, he added.
