The Department of Archaeology (DoA) has torn down a part of the boundary wall of the heritage Lalbagh Kella (fort) to make way for a parking lot.
Published : 27 Jun 2015, 11:54 AM
An environmentalist organisation has protested against the move, saying that will reduce the beauty of the 17th century Mughal fort.
The DoA, however, contends that the part of the wall levelled up is of no archaeological value and bringing it down will not affect the beauty of the fort.
Locals said the wall was crumbing and had been renovated several times before.
A 10-foot stretch of the wall on the corner beside the office was found levelled on Friday.
Bricks have been laid to make the parking lot inside the fort’s boundary. The broken part of the wall will be used as the entrance to the fort.
“Everything inside the wall and the fort are part of our heritage. They should be kept intact,” he said.
“The ambience of the fort will be affected, if cars are parked in its premises. The archaeological beauty will be finished. The department should arrange another place to park cars,” he added.
He alleged that the objective of making a parking lot there was ‘commercial’ and ‘intended to benefit an influential group’.
Some locals said three buildings were set up in that corner of the site ‘illegally’ several years ago.
The authorities evicted one of the buildings after it had been proved illegal. The two other multi-storey buildings are still there.
“It had become a den of anti-socials including those involved in drug abuse,” he said.
Lalbagh Fort Custodian Sultana Zakia Bedowra said the place, where the parking lot has been being set up, had been grabbed illegally for a long time.
The fort authorities took control of the place in May, 2014, and decided to make a parking lot there, she said.
“The wall which has been levelled was not a part of the heritage. It was built after the independence. The protesters do not know the details,” she said.
“Our duty is to preserve heritage, not to destroy it,” she added.
She also said the parking lot would be a temporary arrangement.
“If any problem occurs or the beauty of the fort is compromised, it will be removed,” Bedowra said.
Swadhin Sen, who teaches archaeology in Jahangirnagar University, said there would be no problem, if the torn down wall was not a part of the main fort.
“It’s right that the heritage needs a parking space,” he said.
Taimur Islam, chief executive of Urban Study Group, which worked on heritage, said the DoA should be more careful while planning over an important site like the Lalbagh Fort.
“The place for the parking lot is a garden space. I don’t understand why a parking lot is being built there. I think the fort’s beauty would increase if a garden was set up there,” he said.
In 2009, the government published a gazette to preserve 93 buildings and four sites as heritage. The Lalbagh Fort was one of them.