Architects are engaged in planning phase.
Isnt it?

Thank you, Qazi Mowla bhai for bringing in this topic to discussion. I feel your disappointment and agree with you on ‘Rape of old Dhaka Central Jail heritage site’ in every bit.

Being myself brought up beside this great historic establishment and being a die heart patron of Architectural conservation I had high hope too. But that was brutally murdered in broad day light. As you said, golden opportunity lost to establish a canonic example of what a conservation intervention could be in a complex historical setting. Unlike many socio-economic challenges with its neighbors Bara Katra or Choto Katra, the old fort aka central jail offered a clean navigation to a wholistic. realization. There were clear expectations : preserve the flavor of historicity, build a corridor between old and new as a connector of times, engage locals to establish the sense of pride and belonging.

I have friends and acquaintances in the surrounding neighborhoods who have been living there for ages. There are also some old Dhaka organizations working for the retention of history and culture of Dhaka. They told me that they had so much to tell about and be part of this great project. But strangely they were brutally ignored.
How come an urban conservation project be foreseen in such context without local participation!!

We may have the resources and tools, but surely we don’t have the sensitivity, commitment and accountability to our past. How could we talk about Bara Katra to be conserved while we are so careless about a project that offered almost no challenge but opportunity to establish a unique footprint in urban conservation!

I am really overwhelmed with despair overs years seeing how our resources and tools had been operating.

When will we understand the value of a mughal capital? This jail was the birthplace of Dhaka city. A Afghan fort was here. I think the old kernel of this should be declared as heritage series, not the particular buildings. a district of ‘Not changable area. ‘ all the Europe following such strategies. Prague of Czech Republic is the best example which ensured a very sound tourism based economy for them. It’s high time to preserve these, otherwise next generations will become historyless. A city without historical sites is just like A human who doesn’t has any memory. An ant-for whom everything is horizontal; even its climbing a tree….