Cultural heritage still under threat

The authorities of Bangladesh Railway as well as the cultural-minded people are worried about protection of cultural heritage MT Hossain Institute as Lalmonirhat Chamber of Commerce and Industries (LCCI) has continued efforts to take possession of the institute's land in the name of building a school at Babupara in the town.

The LCCI with businessmen and a section of locals formed a human chain demanding building of the school on the institute's land on Wednesday and they submitted a memorandum demanding the same to Railway Minister Muzibul Haque during his visit to Lalmonirhat on Thursday.

Earlier, LCCI laid foundation stone for building a schoolhouse on the institute's land on November 5 last year and the railway authorities demolished it after a week.

“MT Hossain Institute is a cultural heritage site of Bangladesh Railway and there is no scope to give permission to anybody for using the institute's land,” said Rezwanul Haque, West Zone Railway's divisional estate officer in Lalmonirhat.

“LCCI and local people have been trying to convince the higher authorities of Bangladesh Railway for building a school on the institute premises. The railway minister, however, rejected the LCCI's demand and told us that the institute would be remodelled, maintaining its originality,” he said.

Sufi Mohammad, convener of Lalmonirhat Heritage Conservation Council, said, “A group of businessmen under the banner of LCCI have planned to grab the land of the cultural heritage site in the name of building a school. They have also a plan to construct a market on the land after building a school there. And so, the heritage faces the threat of eviction.”

For protecting the cultural heritage from alleged grabbers, worldwide President of International Theatre Institute Ramendu Majumdar, General Secretary of  Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation Aktaruzzaman, Professor of Theatre and Performance Studies Department of Dhaka University Syed Jamil Ahmed, Director of Aranyak Natyadal Mamunur Rashid and President of Bangladesh Pathnatok Parishad Manna Hira issued separate statements and those have already been forwarded to the railway ministry, said Sufi Mohammad.

However, Quamrul Hasan Bakul, president of LCCI, said, “We do not want to build a market on the land of the cultural heritage. We want to build LCCI Model School on the unused space of the institute's land.”

MT Hossain Institute theatre was constructed on three acres of railway land in 1905 and for most of its history maintained by the West Zone Railway. Initially called the Pears Institute, the theatre's current name was adopted in 1934.  Due to its revolving stage and circle gallery seating, the theatre stood out as an important cultural venue in South Asia. It has hosted innumerable events over the years, celebrating the works of the subcontinent's poets and authors as well as hosting plays and musical events. Until 1983 the theatre regularly held cultural discussions too, attracting participants from neighbouring countries.