Cultural activists take a stand in front of the closed Shilpakala Academy.

Cultural activists of the district demanded resuming the activities of District Shilpakala Academy immediately. According to them, the academy has not functioned in the last seven years.
About one hundred cultural activists of the district met with the deputy commissioner of Nilphamari at DC office on February 2. The DC was given a memorandum. In it, the cultural activists mentioned that there is an inactive ad hoc committee to oversee the functions of the academy. The memorandum added that there is no genuine representation of the local cultural activists in the committee.
An abandoned government quarter next to the collectorate building is being used as the Shilpakala Academy for sometime. The new academy building is still under construction. The ad hoc committee in charge of conducting the academy includes five members and is headed by the DC as its convenor. The deputy collector (NDC) is the member secretary of the committee. Other three members are construction contractors and influential political figures.
While talking to the local journalists, President of District Bhawaiya Academy, Md Lutfar Rahman alleged that throughout the year, Shilpakala Academy building remains closed. Artists including singers, dancers, actors and instrumentalists cannot practice there.
Ahsan Rahim Manzil, convenor of the district Sammilito Sanskritik Jote, said that three members of the ad hoc committee are professional construction contractors with no cultural affiliation. They are in it solely for personal gains, he added.
Tagore artiste Al Masud Alal said that in the name of purchasing new musical instruments for the academy, the vested quarter invited auctions to sell the old instruments. But they misappropriated those instruments. No new instrument has been purchased yet, he said.
Local cultural activists claimed that renowned personalities of the country including Asaduzzaman Noor, Rathindranath Roy, Horolal Roy, Ajit Roy, Mahesh Chandra and others are products of the opulent cultural traditions of the district. But cultural practices do not get any encouragement and space for practice due to the involvement of individuals, who have no cultural affiliation, in the overseeing committee.
The DC Rashidul Hasan assured the cultural activists that he would look into the matter.
Among those present at the time of handing over the memorandum to the DC were district Bhawaiya Academy President Lutfar Rahman; Bashoree Sanskritik Sangstha Secretary Girish Chandra; Jalshiri Natya Sangstha Secretary Obaidur Rahman; District Udichi Vice-president Ataur Rahman; district Sammilito Sanskritik Jote's Convenor Ahsan Rahim Manzil; Bangabandhu Sanskritik Gosthi President Al Masud Alal and Nilphamari Itihash Parishad President Moni Khandokar.