PM Modi & Bangladesh PM Ms Hasina inaugurate NBCC built ‘Bangladesh Bhavan’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Ms Sheikh Hasina inaugurated ‘Bangladesh Bhavan’ at the campus of Visva Bharati University, founded by Rabindranath Tagore in 1921 at Bolpur in Santiniketan, in the presence of Mrs Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal on May 25, 2018. Modi is the Chancellor of Visva Bharati University, one of the most prestigious universities of India. NBCC (India) Ltd, a Navratna CPSE under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, was the implementing agency for this Rs 24.22 crore project. Describing the Bangladesh Bhavan as a symbol of cultural ties between India and Bangladesh, Prime Minister Modi said, “I feel glad to inaugurate Bangladesh Bhavan which is an image of craftsmanship, connections, training and language. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's credo of Universal Humanism is reflected in the Union Government's guiding principle of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas." He said that the shared resolve of India and Bangladesh, against cruelty and terrorism, will continue to inspire future generations through the Bangladesh Bhavan.

Highlighting the construction concept of the Bangladesh Bhavan, Dr. Anoop Kumar Mittal, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, NBCC, said, “Bangladesh Bhavan is a symbol of strengthening cultural connect between India and Bangladesh and we are proud to have executed this and become part of history.” The Bhavan, would house a cultural complex including a library and a museum. Bangladesh Bhavan is a barrier-free building with 453 capacity state-of-the-art auditorium equipped with international standard audio system and two seminar halls each with a capacity of 175 persons separated by folding acoustic partition with video conference and video streaming facilities. Besides, there is a cafeteria to seat 108 persons, fire management system as per National Building Code, CCTV surveillance at strategic locations and passive infrastructure for Wi-Fi. The building with a museum, a library and an auditorium resonates West Bengal’s deep ties with Bangladesh and combines tradition with modernity. It has been built using green building compliant and eco-friendly materials like fly ash bricks, low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints, LED (light emitting diode) luminaries, energy efficient VRF (variable refrigerant flow) air conditioning, rooftop solar installation, and rain water recharge pits for ground water recharge. “NBCC aims to be an able partner of the Government in re-building the nation brick by brick by developing high quality and sustainable infrastructure. We take pride in ourselves for being the Government’s most trusted partner in that. We were recently called in for a Rs 2,000 crore order to build high-capacity convention centres in nine African countries as an initiative of the Ministry of External Affairs,” added Dr. Mittal.