The New Nation - Internet Edition

There are some cyclone shelters in the coastal area that are insufficient for housing all people during emergency of natural calamity. There may be built some more. There is further proposal for building some for domestic cattle as well. Plan for such additional new shelters would be good enough. I have, however, a point in view for something else.

The damaged homes in the coastal area, as far as I could see, were ill-built in their engineering design extremely vulnerable to cyclone or tornado or any such natural disaster Bangladesh's coastal area is prone to. I have an idea as to different sort of engineering design that would not be vulnerable to the extreme calamities and could better stand the kind of disasters due to high cyclonic wind pressure of unusual nature. The cost element, however, could stand in the way.

I am not an expert in engineering design of modern homes. But I have a hunch that expert design engineers could develop the idea into practicable and feasible ones. For example, pre-fabricated steel reinforced pillar (Say, 6 by 6 inches cross section) based homes could be tried in this matter with provision for hire purchase interest free loan scheme for interested persons. Another idea I have in view is that there could be in each such home built or cluster of homes built, special small shelter inside the home proper that could be a sort of shelter inside the home proper that could be less vulnerable than the whole structure for taking refuse during the emergency. Still another mode for design for durable home could be having steel pillar, possibly, using angle iron (Say 2.5 by 2.5 inches) that could be even more stronger than even pre-fabricated reinforced concrete pillars mentioned above.

Both these mode would be, I think, costlier than what the people used to build structure with cheaper wooden materials/timber and corrugated iron sheet.

But if we develop a long term loan plan for cost repayment mode in installment for the interested buyers- owners in the category of better off ones, such homes, in addition to their providing full utility to the owners may well serve as additional shelters for the less well off others not having durable home during natural emergency.

I see the possibility as we are getting huge external aids for the cyclone victims of the 15th November, 07; some funds could be earmarked for such permanent structure building projects in the coastal areas.

M.T. Hussain

Ibahimpur, Dhaka