Students leave dormitory as it develops cracks in quake

Students of Sylhet Nursing College vacated their dormitory yesterday after numerous cracks developed in its walls due to Wednesday's earthquake.

Besides, the dormitory shook during a storm yesterday morning, students said.

A total of 375 students lived in the hostel. After the storm, many refused to stay there.

An expert team from the local fire service and the Local Government Engineering Department already completed an inspection of the building, but was yet to submit a report.

The authorities requested the girls to find another place to stay until the team submits its report, said Shilpi Chakrabharty, principal of the college.

The students then left the building. A large number of them started staying in classrooms as they have exams going on.

Some students told The Daily Star that they feared accidents might occur after the hostel was damaged by the earthquake. As the dormitory started shaking heavily during the storm, some students started crying in fear.

The college was established in 1982 and was named Sylhet Nursing Training Centre. It was a four-storey building. Initially, the ground floor was used as academic compound and the upper floors as hostel for students, college officials said.

In 2011, the training centre became Sylhet Nursing College and the academic activities were shifted to a new building. The old building has been used only as girls' hostel since then.

The hostel was overcrowded as it accommodated 375 students against its capacity of 250.

The heavy storm shook the building, panicking the students into leaving it, said Hasna Alam Omi, president of Students' Welfare Association. 

Principal Shilpi said, “The hostel building has not been declared abandoned. Experts are working on the issue. As the students refused to stay, we asked them to vacate the building.”