Heritage list not finalised six years after govt order

Though a 2009 gazette asked for preservation of heritage buildings, the Department of Archaeology (DoA) is yet to finalise the list.

Ashik Hossainbdnews24.com
Published : 4 July 2015, 08:36 AM
Updated : 4 July 2015, 12:53 PM

The issue has come into focus after a part of the boundary wall of 17th century Mughal establishment Lalbagh Kella (fort) was brought down to create a parking space.

Experts say significant heritage buildings are withering away one after another because of lack of care, which will be possible only when the sites for preservation are clearly marked out.

Most countries are strict in preserving heritage not only as a matter of national pride but also to boost tourism.

But that is something seemingly missing in Bangladesh.

Even the 93 buildings and four sites, which were ordered to be preserved in the 2009 gazette, are not looked after properly.

After the recent Lalbagh Kella boundary wall controversy, the DoA said it had just started to make a list of heritage sites to be preserved.

Approval is mandatory in many countries for any modification, demolition or renovation of heritage sites more than 100 years old.

Chhoto Katra

Borho Katra

In Kolkata, heritage preservation NGOs have prevented any change of design in British time heritage buildings during renovation.

In Dhaka, too, special permission from capital’s development authority RAJUK is needed, but the RAJUK is rarely found strict in supervision of what happens at these sites.

According to Taimur Islam, chief executive of Urban Study Group, which worked on heritage, the most important thing in heritage site preservation is to create a 250-metre buffer zone around the site.

“You need to demark the site first, but the Department of Archaeology could not yet do it after so many years.

“Meanwhile, the sites are being destroyed one after another,” he said.

He gave examples of Chhoto Katra and Borho Katra at Old Dhaka.

“Can someone at Old Dhaka say where Chhoto Katra and Borho Katra are located? But these are significant heritage sites,” he said.

Taimur Islam had filed a writ petition at the High Court seeking preservation of heritage sites in 2012.

On Oct 8 that year, the High Court ordered LGED, housing and public works ministry, cultural affairs ministry, and RAJUK to publish a list of heritage establishments and sites within three months.

Victoria Memorial in Kolkata

Two and a half years have passed after the order, but the list is yet to be made.

“The way the buildings are destroyed one after another, I don’t think they could be found after the list was made,” Taimur Islam said.

Swadhin Sen, who teaches archaeology in Jahangirnagar University, said there should be a national policy in keeping with the best global practices on preserving heritages.

He gave examples of neighbouring India. “They have preserved many colonial and late Mughal monuments. They have a policy on preservation of heritages and that is strictly followed.”

DoA Director General Altaf Hossain said the work to demark the heritage sites was underway but could not say when it will end.

He said the government was making a heritage policy.

The DoA DG also said there would be fewer problems if RAJUK consulted the department before giving permission to set up buildings beside heritage sites.