Friday, May 03, 2024
The Dhaka University Master Plan will remove 76.43 per cent of the residential crisis at the institution, making the establishment smart, free from the decrepit housing arrangement.
Making this remark, the Master Plan proposes keeping 24 student halls on the campus. At present, there are 19 residential dormitories.
The proposed Master Plan increases residential student accommodation from 16,723 (41.81 per cent) to 30,571 (76.43 per cent) where male student accommodation is increased from 11,493 (45.59 per cent) to 20,685 (82.04 per cent) and female student accommodation is increased from 5,230 (35.37 per cent) to 9,886 (66.85 per cent).
Students of the university have expressed satisfaction with the authorities’ much needed steps to resolve residential issues.
Rakib Islam, a student of the political science department, said, “The hall crisis is one of the main problems in our university. I want to thank the authorities concerned for taking this initiative.
“The authorities should finish the project as soon as possible,” he added.
Speaking to The Business Post, DU Vice-Chancellor Prof ASM Maksud Kamal said, “The Master Plan is a blessing for us. It will bring big, positive changes to the university. After the Master Plan's implementation, most of the university’s problems will be resolved.
“Especially, there will be no crisis of residence for the students.”
However, the proposed master plan requires removal of 599 structures, to be replaced by 97 high-rises, so that the buildings could cover 65.89 acres, down from 81.25 acres, or equivalent to 21 per cent of the total land area of the university.
The Master Plan proposes to increase green spaces from 19.53 acres to 21.59 acres, water bodies from 18.73 acres to 23.84 acres and playgrounds from 7.65 acres to 7.73 acres.
The 123.27 acres of inaccessible green spaces and territory would increase to almost 139.08 acres by developing a proper circular network and positioning buildings.
The green areas will increase and the ratio of open space and built-up areas will be 79 per cent and 21 per cent of the total area respectively.
Moreover, the Master Plan proposes a total of 97 buildings, 17 for academic use, 22 house tutors buildings, 12 residential buildings for teachers and officers, nine residential buildings for the staff and 13 buildings for various facilities.
The buildings will be constructed in three phases, 28 in Phase-1, 29 in Phase-2, and 40 in Phase-3.
Shahid Sergeant Zahurul Huq Hall Provost Prof Md Abdur Rahim said, “The Dhaka University will change into a world class university after the Master Plan’s implementation. The atmosphere of education will be developed, and the Master Plan will improve the students' living arrangements.
As a result, the Dhaka University students can easily concentrate on their education and research more than at present times.
The Master Plan has a time frame of 30 years (2021-2050) and considering need and pragmatism, the proposed development has been designed to be implemented in three chronological phases.
They are – Phase-1 (2021-2025), Phase-2 (2026-2030), and Phase-3 (2031-2035).
