<i>Locals loot bricks from ancient site</i>

TOP… Locals have taken away bricks from the eastern wall of Pundra Nagar, an archaeological site in Bogra. BELOW… One of many houses built using the stolen bricks.Photo: STAR

Government officials allege that locals are stealing bricks from the remnants of the 2000-year old city of Pundra Nagar, a fenced reserved site in Bogra which could soon be listed as a world heritage site.
Geological department field officer Badrul Alam told The Daily Star that locals are stealing hundreds of thousands of bricks, digging holes or farming in the 40 reserved sites in and around Pundra Nagar.
Pundra Nagar is a city that holds relics from the Maurya, Shangu, Gupta, Pal and Sen eras dating back to at least 2,000 years.
"People cannot do anything about it because of legal complications," Alam said adding that hundreds of people obtained fake documents to grab land within the fenced area declared reserved in 1922. Pundra Nagar covers a 2.25 crore square foot area.
According to government rules, any archaeological or private digging within a four-mile radius of Pundra Nagar requires permission from the deputy commissioner's (DC) office. But, the DC officials say that no such permission has been taken from them to construct houses or farms in the area.
A number of officials from the geological survey department are alleged to have been involved in encouraging encroachment through forged documents.
At least three people were seen building concrete buildings in or around Pundra Nagar who seem to have paid well below the market rate of land in the area.
Builders were seen using bricks from thousand-year-old houses to build their own, which has damaged the structures of most of the buildings.