City soon to see stars
City Correspondent
Star-gazers and planet-watchers who have been eagerly awaiting the completion of the Dhaka Novo Theatre, the city's first modern planetarium, will have to wait a while longer. It will be another four or five months before the project is up and running.The project has suffered several setbacks and delays since its inception. The present government had already once suspended work on the planetarium -- after 80 percent of construction was completed saying it was 'unproductive.' The ministry of works was directed to postpone further work on the Taka 133 crore project in November 2001. The government finally gave the go-ahead eight months ago to resume work on the planetarium, which should have been opened this month. The Novo Theatre, which will allow the public and students of science to study the night sky of both the earth's hemispheres, was originally conceived by the BNP government in 1995. At the time the project was estimated at a cost of Taka 52 crore, and was approved by the parliamentary standing committee on science and technology. When Awami League came into office in 1996, the theatre was renamed after Bangubhandu and the budget was more than doubled to a total of Taka 134 crore. The Public Works Department (PWD) began structural work on the Bangabandhu Novo Theatre at a site beside the Army Museum near Bijoy Sarani. Equipment for the planetarium was procured from the Japanese Goto Optical Manufacturing Company, at a cost of Taka 43.19 crore, with a view to opening the theatre in October 1998. But work was not completed in time, due to initial delays in design and in procuring suitable land for the project. Further delays occurred with the present government. Shortly after an American team installed the US-imported, Taka 5 crore aluminium dome of the planetarium, the BNP government deemed the project too expensive and unproductive. However, everything appears to be back on track now. and sensitive optical equipment, from the US and Japan, is waiting now to be installed. "Everything is OK here. Now we just need some time to install the rest of the equipment. The equipment will be installed by the Japanese team, which will be scheduled to arrive in the country next month," project officials said. The many planetariums in neighbouring countries of the region are popular attractions for the public. India has 29, including four in West Bengal and one in Kolkata Science City, while Pakistan has three. These planetariums generate income by charging admission, as will the Novo Theatre.
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