ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY, Kushtia, Feb 24: Two lifts installed in the business faculty building of Islamic University (IU) in the district have remained useless for nearly nine months - thanks to the IU administration for not taking steps to restart them.
The lifts were shut down mainly due to technical glitches two weeks after their launching on June 3, 2023.
Students as well as the IU vice-chancellor got stuck in the lift got stuck inside the lifts.
The IU vice-chancellor was rescued through pulling both sides of the lift.
This accident occurred due to lack of important sensors like overload control and an automatic rescue system.
According to the campus sources, the two lifts have been installed for the first time in a building at the university.
During the expansion of the 5th and 6th floors of the building, the lifts were approved and the budget was estimated at Tk 4.2 million (42 lakh).
As per the Public Works Department's (PWD) Bangladesh Schedule of Rates-2018, there are two lifts installed in the price list of the lowest listed 'C Category' lifts in the market.
In the list, each lift mentioned in the 'B' category is priced at Tk 3.1 million (31 lakh) and that in the 'A' category at Tk 4 million (40 lakh). Later, the price of the lift was increased according to each floor.
The university authorities approved the installation of lifts by referring to four brands, including 'C' category LGS, Gold Star, and Sigma. Among them, two Korean Sigma brand lifts were installed on May 3 by a contractor named 'Sonnet International'. The price of each of the lifts is estimated at Tk 2.5 million (25 lakh).
However, its capacity as an academic building is also very low. In general, only six students have been instructed to go up on each lift.
Ordinary students are angry because the lifts have been closed for a long time.
Around 2,500 students and teachers are suffering while climbing the upstairs. The students with disabilities are the worst victims.
When asked whether any action has been taken to restart the lifts, Dean of the Faculty of the Business Administration Prof Md Saiful Islam said, "I had given a letter to the administration about two months ago. The administration assured that action would be taken soon. And the chief engineer of the university was asked to restart the work, but after two months, no activities started there.
KM Sharif Uddin, chief engineer of the engineering office, said a notice was issued to restart the lifts. Supervising Engineer (Mechanical), Md Abdul Malek Miah has been assigned the responsibility from the office.
Malek said, "We received a note from the administration about renovating the lift and restarting it, but we could not start the work due to a manpower shortage.
"I have sent a note from the office to the vice-chancellor, mentioning that at least two workers are required to operate the lifts. But no decision has been announced yet from the administration. As soon as we get manpower, we will train them and start working."
Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Sheikh Abdus Salam said, "Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Mahbubur Rahman and Proctor Professor Dr Shahadat Hossain Azad have been given responsibility in this regard."
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