Ishwardi (Pabna) Correspondent
A fire has damaged the internal server of the under-construction Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Ishwardi, Pabna, burning some government documents. However, project officials said all files remained intact as backup copies were stored in the digital system.
The fire broke out at around 3am on Monday (6 September) at the old office of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC), near Gate No. 2 of the project. The server room of the BAEC office was also affected.
Computers, air conditioners, important documents, electrical equipment and various components of the internet server were damaged in the fire.
Md Abul Hashem, an official at the Rooppur project fire station, said, “As soon as we received the news of the fire, our staff quickly reached the spot and brought it under control. Four teams of the Fire Service worked to control the blaze. The internal server of the power plant was damaged in the incident.”
Regarding the cause of the fire, he said an initial investigation suggested that it may have started from an electrical short circuit in an air conditioner at the BAEC office. He also said a committee had been formed to investigate the incident.
Md Ruhul Quddus, site office in-charge and administrative officer of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, said on Wednesday afternoon that the Rooppur project director and other senior officials had been staying at Rooppur since the fire.
He said some documents were damaged in the sudden fire, but the incident would not cause any major problem as backup copies were stored in the digital system and every file remained intact.
Efforts to contact Rooppur project director Dr Kabir Ahmed by phone for his comment went unanswered.
Recently, a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited Rooppur to assess the plant’s readiness for operation. At the time, they expressed concern over shortcomings and inadequacies in the fire-fighting system of the Rooppur project. #EK
