IIT Guwahati to begin work to probe Assembly dome collapse today

On May 22, the under-construction Assembly building collapsed after which Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma approached four IITs to take up the probe and eventually, the IITG was selected.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati is all set to begin its probe into the collapse of the dome of the under-construction Assembly building today. On May 22, the under-construction Assembly building collapsed after which Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma approached four IITs to take up the probe and eventually, the IITG was selected.

A senior government official said the two-part probe-cum-safety audit is expected to begin on Friday. The IITG will conduct a non-destructive test on the safety and stability of the entire building, except the dome portion, as reported by theshillongtimes.com.

“The report will be submitted within 15 days, after which the work can resume,” the official said.

IIT Gandhinagar team will conduct an analysis on the dome portion. It will collect samples from the site of the building for analysis. The report will be submitted by the team within two months. Recently, the PWD (Buildings) inked a memorandum of understanding with the IIT Gandhinagar for the job.

The dome's weight was 70 tonnes and its actual height was about 65 meters. The height of the minar was 13 meters. The dome’s collapse had left the state government in shock and embarrassment. From Political parties to pressure groups or civil societies the government faced hard times over alleged shoddy construction of the building. They also demanded a CBI probe into the incident, as per the reports.

It must be noted that two decades ago, a devastating fire had gutted the historic old Assembly building. Ever since then, the state has been without a permanent Assembly building.

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