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Published : 10 Jul 2026, 01:05 PM
Cumilla's historic Birchandra Public Library and Town Hall have remained out of use two years after they were damaged in an attack and arson following the fall of the Awami League government.
Renovation work on the nearly 150-year-old library and auditorium, a landmark of the Samatata heritage -- a term referencing the ancient Buddhist kingdom and archaeological legacy of the greater Cumilla region -- began a year ago but the building remains unusable.
Once buzzing with political, social and cultural events, the auditorium now sits silent.
The library's book cabinets have been repaired and repainted, but the shelves remain empty, with readers left flipping through daily newspapers at dust-covered tables.
Management committee members of the library and the auditorium have cited the contractor's negligence for the sluggish pace of renovation, and called on the culture ministry to speed things up.
Deputy Commissioner Rosy Akter is the ex-officio chair of the library's management committee, but as she is newly appointed, Additional Deputy Commissioner Md Saiful Islam spoke on her behalf, saying the contractor has indicated the venue could reopen between Aug 15 and 20.
"But sound and stage lighting work will still be pending after that. We keep pressing the contractor to finish on time," he said.
The building's roots trace back to 1885, when the then district magistrate FH Skrine requested land for a library from Maharaja Birchandra Manikya Bahadur, Zamindar of Tripura district's Chakla Roshnabad estate.
The Maharaja funded a building himself on 10 bighas or 1.34 hectares of land at Kandirpar, in the heart of Cumilla town.
Established on May 6, 1885, the building became known as Cumilla's “Birchandra Gono Pathagar and Nagar Milanayatan”.
It was renovated in 1933 and again in 2003. Until 2024, its library held at least 30,000 valuable books.
Besides a prayer space and a Freedom Fighters' corner, the institution's biggest draw was its two-storey auditorium, widely known as Town Hall.
Its architecture made the building a landmark for Cumilla, and it served as a hub for the Language Movement, the Liberation War and democratic movements over the decades.
Librarian Md Shariful Islam said 11,000 books were destroyed or looted in the attack.
Of 75 damaged cabinets, at least 20 were completely destroyed.
Computers, steel cabinets and documents were ruined, along with the auditorium's chairs, air conditioners, fans and wooden panelling.
A general diary was filed with police over the incident.
Renovation work, funded by the district council, began in May last year, a year after the attack.
Messrs Parent and Sons won the tender for the work at a cost of Tk 27.5 million, with completion originally due this August.
Islam said the Town Hall remains unusable, and an application has been submitted to local MP Monirul Haque Chowdhury for books and furniture.
Full-scale activity can resume only once the auditorium's renovation is complete, he added.
Those associated with the institution said it employs seven people, including a librarian and an assistant librarian, along with a caretaker, guard and sweeper.
The auditorium previously held 450 chairs; it will now seat 368.
It had 64 tonnes of air conditioning capacity; nine 5-tonne units, totalling 45 tonnes, are being installed now.
It previously had 98 fans; 39 will now be fitted.
Writer and journalist Zahirul Islam Shanto said Town Hall has long been the epicentre of Cumilla's mass movements and demands for rights, and its history lends weight to any political, social or cultural programme held there.
Yet its repair has dragged on amid repeated delays, he said, forcing Cumilla's political, social and cultural events, which would normally be held at Town Hall, to be scattered across private venues for the past two years, something he called unacceptable.
"The sad part is, the books looted from the library can never be recovered," Shanto said. "Even if what's lost never comes back, government initiative could still have made this rich library whole again.
“Birchandra Gono Pathagar and Nagar Milanayatan isn't just a building of brick and stone, it's our identity and existence."
Md Sajjadul Kabir, member secretary of the library’s management committee, voiced frustration, saying they had hoped all renovation work would finish on schedule, but after one extension, there is now uncertainty over whether the second deadline will be met either.
"People are eager to use Birchandra Gono Pathagar and the auditorium, but it isn't possible yet. We're failing to meet the aspirations of ordinary people," he said.
"The contractor has been slow, and we're the ones facing questions over it. We want the culture ministry to pay closer attention to this," he added.
Loyet Sarkar, engineer for contractor Messrs Parent and Sons, said the renovation deadline has been extended to August 2026.
The tender was floated in March 2025, with work starting at an initial cost of Tk 27.5 million, though the revised budget now exceeds Tk 30 million, funded by the district council.
He said work is currently in full swing.
On the delays, Sarkar said: "As we've gone along, we've kept uncovering new problems that we've had to address as well. But we'll be able to finish the work by August."
