20th-century politician’s grave demolished
Construction workers demolished many of the preserved graves, including partly that of the early 20th-century politician Madar Baksh at Rajshahi city's Hetom Khan graveyard last week.
The news surfaced when Ahmed Shafi Uddin, president of Sushasoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan), went to visit the graveyard to offer prayers for his late relatives.
He wrote his findings in a Facebook post.
"The state should preserve the grave of a man like him," he told The Daily Star.
Madar Baksh (1907-1967) won the general election of 1946 and became a member of the undivided Bengal's Legislative Assembly.
He was the founding chairman of Rajshahi Municipality. His name is remembered as one of the founders of Rajshahi University.
Workers employed by Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) damaged the southern walls of Madar Bakhsh's grave while erecting a boundary wall under a renovation project of the graveyard.
However, Madar Baksh's memorial plaque was intact.
Some other privately preserved graves at the graveyard were demolished during the renovation works. Memorial plaques of the graves were also damaged.
Madar Bakhs's grandson Kazi Ha-mim Saleh said he has no objection with the development activities but he felt sorry that none of his grandfather's family members were contacted before demolishing his grave.
"Even if we feel sad, we have nothing to do," he said.
Contacted, RCC Chief Engineer Md Noor Islam said the construction workers wrongly demolished some of the preserved graves.
"The preserved graves should remain intact. There was no instruction to demolish those," he said, adding that the relatives of the dead people have been preserving the graves taking the grave lands on lease.
"We will reconstruct the preserved graves," he said.
The corporation has been renovating the city's graveyards since 2021 to make space for new graves, RCC officials said.
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