Speaker's ruling on Parliament buidling overruled by Sharad Yadav, experts

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's letter regarding the safety of 88-year-old Parliament House and building a new structure therein has been criticised by Janata Dal leaders and architectural engineering experts. Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav has said such a move should be nipped in the bud forthwith. He said on Monday that any move to `demolish the temple of democracy' should be given up. A leading structural engineer R.T. Ravindran also decried any such move and took an exception of the Speaker's letter in this regard. Ravindran, who worked as chairman of Delhi Urban Arts Commission, said he was dismayed by the Speaker's letter. He had himself overseen certain improvements in Parliament building in the past. Using his experience, the engineer said he was sure that the building would safely stand another century. The circular building constructed by the British had taken all precautions for its safety and longer life. The famous engineer also rejected the notion that the building was too small for Parliament's needs, saying improvements could be made to increase its seating capacity. If small alterations were done, the seating capacity could be raised, he added. The structural engineers should, however, make a study how long the Parliament House structure would stand as Delhi is in the earthquake-prone zone. If there's an earthquake in Central Asia and beyond or Nepal in the South-East, Delhi experiences tremors. Did they take the status of the building in such an eventuality into consideration? The Speaker has indeed said in her letter that Parliament House is showing signs of distress and will no longer be able to meet the demands of space. All concerned need to take a relook at the scientific aspects of the building safety. However, it is generally known that circular buildings such as Parliament House are taboo under Vaastu rules.