Martyr Barkat museum still waiting for opening
A museum set up on the Dhaka University campus three years ago to honour 1952 Language Movement martyr Abul Barkat could not be opened for public until date due to negligence of the DU authorities.
Dhaka District Council had constructed the Abul Barkat Memorial Museum at Sergeant Zohurul Haque Hall near the city's Palashi intersection at a cost of Tk 61 lakh, according to district council sources.
The construction work ended in February 2009 and it was handed over to the DU authorities.
Seven months later the authorities had appointed six staff for the museum. Since then they have been drawing salaries without performing any duty, said one of the employees seeking not to be named.
The museum is now fully organised with furniture, displays and other equipment.
Contacted, in-charge of the museum and DU Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof Harun-or-Rashid said he has failed to open the museum as the district council did not supply a multimedia projector. He claimed it to be a necessary item for creating a patriotic atmosphere at the museum.
However, Administrator of Dhaka District Council Hasina Dowla told The Daily Star that they have never been approached for a projector.
Clothes, portraits and other materials used by Barkat will be on display in two galleries of the museum. It will also have a library and a reading room for the visitors to learn more about the country's historic movements.
Barkat was a master's student at the Department of Political Science of DU when he was killed in police firing near Dhaka Medical College.
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