Erratic growth, no master plan
Authorities of Dhaka University (DU), country's oldest university, has not yet been able to prepare a master plan for an architecturally planned growth of the campus.
According to leading architects and academicians, successive authorities and decision makers of DU have virtually destroyed the pristine landscape and valuable green spaces of the campus with unplanned construction works.
Huge amount of public money has been spent in decades in the name of development but the authorities apparently disregarded conservation of the aesthetic value, greenery and open spaces of the campus, they said.
A recent initiative to prepare a master plan for DU has proved futile with the designated committee virtually remaining non-functional and DU authorities sitting idle.
Chief Architect of the Department of Architecture ASM Ismail said that any institution should have a master plan. Any development should be carried out on the basis of such master plan to ensure a congenial atmosphere for all concerned.
"Internal development works must be in harmony with the purposes, objectives and characteristics of an institution," he said. "It is very vital."
A master plan must have at least a 50-year vision detailing open space, built-up area and facilities to ensure ultimate use of available land, said Ismail.
The buildings like Curzon Hall, SM Hall, FH Hall, Shahidullah Hall, Lecture Theatre, NIPA building and central library building that were built during pre-independence era, are all distinct with aesthetic beauty, he said.
"But such beauty in those built after independence is strikingly absent," said Ismail. "It is inconsistent with the architectural features and harmony of the campus."
Noted academician Prof Serajul Islam Choudhury said DU should have a master plan of the campus and the authorities should stop erecting buildings in erratic manner.
"Instead of carrying out development work in isolation, they should do it under a master plan," he said.
Citing example of National University of Singapore, Ismail said that its area is not bigger than that of Dhaka University but it has a master plan. The DU authorities too should implement development work on the basis of a master plan.
Vice-chancellor of DU Prof SMA Faiz said that they had formed a 9-member committee headed by Prof Nazrul Islam on February 10 to prepare the master plan.
Prof Nazrul Islam, who is currently chairman of the University Grants Commission, said the committee has been non-functional. "I'm no longer with the committee," he said.
Prof Nurul Islam Nazem of the Centre for Urban Studies who is a member of the committee, said, "The committee has no specific mandate for preparing a master plan."
With no specific terms of reference, the committee is supposed to ascertain present location of buildings; point out faults, if any, and to give opinion on beautification and development of environment, said Prof Nazem.
"We have not yet been able to hold any formal meeting of the committee," he said.
There is a base map of the existing land use and physical state of the university campus in the Ramna area, prepared by the Department of Geography & Environment. The committee could make use of it, Prof Nazem said.
Experts said that the DU might go for high-rise buildings in place of insignificant old ones to manage accommodation and infrastructure constraints.
Prof Nazrul Islam on August 16 at a programme in the city said that Dhaka University authorities should have a proper and long-term master plan for the campus not only for planned development but also to attain academic excellence.
Experts said construction and development works on DU campus must be regulated in keeping with a master plan to retain and enhance aesthetic beauty of the campus.
The university opened its doors to the students on the first day of July 1921. The campus was set up in a picturesque part of Ramna on 600 acres of land.
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