Desk Report,
Milestone School and College in unsafe area should be evacuated
Although the Milestone School and College in Uttara, Dhaka, is technically legal, it is located in an unsafe area. This educational institution falls within the approach area (airplane take-off and landing area) of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital. All institutions that gather in the approach area of the airport, including schools, colleges, madrasas, should be evacuated.
Milestone School and College in unsafe area should be evacuated
These issues have been raised in an immediate investigation report titled ‘Milestone School Plane Accident: State Responsibilities and Actions to Control Public Safety and Development’ by the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP). BIP highlighted these issues at a press conference at Planners Tower in Bangla Motor in the capital today, Friday.
BIP Joint General Secretary Planner Tamjidul Islam presented the report at the press conference. According to the report, no type of structure can be constructed within 500 feet of the airport runway. The next 13,000 feet or about 4 kilometers is called the approach area, where aircraft take off and land. The report says that there is no obstacle from the government’s city authorities and the civil aviation authority to build structures up to 150 feet high in the approach area. There are also no instructions from government agencies on what kind of use those structures will be. The report says that such structures in the approach area are technically legal, but practically unsafe.
While presenting the report, planner Tamjidul Islam said that the detailed area plan or DAP of the Capital Development Authority (RAJUK) mentions controlling the height of structures in the approach area. But there is no mention of what kind of use the land there will be. The land there should not be used for any such structure where mass gatherings take place. Agricultural land and greenery can be done, but nothing can be done that will attract birds.
Explaining the ideal standards followed in the case of airports internationally, Tamjidul Islam said that according to the ideal standards, the airport is far from the city. Stating that there are several residential areas in the approach area of this airport, he said that the Metrorail and the elevated expressway made it easy to travel to Milestone School. Otherwise, the death toll could have been higher due to the delay in taking the children to the hospital.
Last Monday, at least 33 people died when an Air Force training fighter jet crashed at Milestone School and College. More than 150 people were injured, many of whom are still in critical condition.
At a press conference, BIP President and Planner Adil Muhammad Khan said that all establishments where people gather, such as schools, colleges, mosques and madrasas, should be removed from the approach area. Otherwise, it will not be possible to prevent a procession of deaths if an accident occurs in the future. The take-off and landing areas of the aircraft should be investigated and all kinds of irregularities should be investigated. Even if there is a discrepancy in the height of the establishment, the excess part should be demolished.
Stating that there is no opportunity to fly training aircraft in populated areas, Adil Muhammad Khan said that the airport was far from Dhaka. Dhaka has been expanded. The concept of development control has been forgotten. Otherwise, there would be no infrastructure like schools and colleges next to the airport’s take-off and landing area. Basic grammar has been forgotten.
When the Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) was made in 1995, the area of Milestone School and College was still a water body. Stating that it was suitable for the airport, Adil Muhammad Khan said that RAJUK allowed the low-lying area to be filled for Milestone.
Asking why RAJUK did not prevent the filling of the low-lying area of Milestone, this planner said that neither RAJUK nor the Bangladesh Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA) fulfilled their responsibilities. Those who built the buildings themselves did not keep their promises.
Adil Muhammad Khan said that the most corruption in the practice that took place in the state for decades was related to land and buildings. In most cases, approvals were obtained by pressure from the higher levels of the state. Some buildings in the milestone have approvals, some do not. The building that the plane hit probably does not have approval.
BIP General Secretary and Planner Sheikh Muhammad Mehedi Ahsan believes that the government should form a high-level committee to verify how many establishments there are in the airport approach area where people gather.
The planner said that the one who built the milestone has a responsibility. Apart from this, there is the issue of obtaining permissions and no-objection certificates from the Civil Aviation Authority, Ministry of Education, District Administration, City Corporation, RAJUK and other related institutions. Everyone who has given permissions and no-objection certificates has a responsibility. If every person who is responsible is identified and punished, perhaps such incidents can be avoided in the future.
BIP Vice President and Planner Syed Shahriar Amin also spoke at the press conference.
