Nearly a hand red media men survived a cl rsc call on Monday as the roof of the press box at the Bangabandfu National Stadium came off a fe w hours after the 2010 World Cup >re-qualificr between Bangladeshi ndTajikistan.
The cnlir: hanging roof, which was hastily b uilt last year as part of the venue's renovation for the AFC Challenge Cup in Dhaka, collapsed during a rain dorm after9pm.
Fortunalr ly, there was no one them at the time.
Had it be sn a night match and started aroui id regulation 7pm, the journalists covering the match would have been a part of a great tragedy for sure.
The roof, which was hung by bars, could not hold the load of rainwater as the drainage system apparently did notwork.
It can be noted the journalists were workin ’ there late night just a month carter to cover a fund-raising exhibition match between retired foolb diets and film stars.
Any one• isiting the site yesterday could ealisc the power of devastation: all the three commentary boxes a id the stretched seating arranger lent for reporters were totally smas led by the weight of the concrete
Even during the AFC Cup in April 2006, water leaked through tiie roof but the authority did not give car to th: complaints.
The Nat onal Sports Council (NSC), bwni r of the number one
national stadium, formed a three-member inquiry committee headed by its director planning Abdur Rahman.
Rahman and two engineers, who visited the site, have been told to submit their report by 24 hours.
"The structure washungbybars and in time, the welding snapped due to storage of water. It seems to be the reason behind the collapse," told NSC secretary Aminul Islam Khan.
"It would have been one of the worst disasters in the country had there been any people there al the time. We have already sent letters to builders Shahidullah Associates and consultants BRTC, a division of BUET.
"The inquiry committee has been given 24 hours but we arc expecting the report on Thursday morning as tomorrow is a public holiday," Aminul added.
SM Shahidullah, managing director of Shahidullah Associates and a Workers Party member, admitted that it was their fault.
"We have to take responsibility of the accident. But it also has to be found out why it happened," asked Shahidullah.
"The roof was flooded with rainwater because the drainage system, perhaps, was non-working due to lack of maintenance. We have to investigate whether it was regularly cleaned or not. Mainienance is NSC's job, not ours.
"Fourteen-inch of water gathered over the roof so it could not
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hold the weight." he informed.
"it is also easy to find out whether we had compromised with quality of materials or not. We did the design and constructions after NSC's approval.
"Although I feel that die defect was in maintenance, not in con-stniction, we will build the roof again." said Shahidullah adding that the construction was good to last for50 years.
A number of footballers, officials and journalists rushed to the Bangabandhu Stadium yesterday after getting the news and thanked die almighty for no lossof life.
"We were sitting there during the match. Now I feel fortunate that the accident happened after we had left," told footballer-turned-
coach Shafiqul Islam Manik.
Former national team captain Badal Roy agreed.
"The feeling is like watching a sinking ship from the harbour after failing to get on board in time," sighed a journalist who covered the match.
It is wordi mentioning that NSC's controversial director of planning and development Nurul Haque Pradhan - transferred to BKSP - was in charge of most of the constructions under sports' governing body that time.
During Pradhan's tenure, the NSC had approved the design of a newstadium at Kam alapur without a press box -- a proof how the media people have been ignored now and again.