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Call for preserving architecture during renovation


Published : 11 Oct 2022 08:27 PM

State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid MP has called upon the concerned architects, archaeologists and conservation engineers to maintain the original infrastructure and structure in archaeological renovation and conservation. He said that all the concerned should be alert and careful so that there is no damage to the main infrastructure during the renovation and maintenance work.

The State Minister said these things in the chief guest's speech at the review and participation meeting of the Hammam Khana in Lalbagh Fort under the funding of the US Embassy in Dhaka organized by the Directorate of Archeology in the seminar hall of the capital's Lalbagh Fort on Tuesday afternoon.

Under the chairmanship of the director general of the Directorate of Archeology, Ratan Chandra Pandit, Secretary of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Md. Abul Mansoor, and Charlina Hossain Morgan, Grants Officer of the US Embassy in Dhaka, spoke as special guests.

Prof. Abu Saeed M Ahmed, consultant of the project, gave a presentation on the organization-preservation of Hammamkhana in Lalbagh Fort. Project consultant Prof. AKM Shahnawaz and Dr. provided expert opinion. TMJ Nilan Cooray.

The chief guest said that Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman included the mandate to protect cultural resources and diversity in the constitution of Bangladesh. The present government under the leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister Jannetri Sheikh Hasina has given due importance to the cultural protection of the country and is implementing various activities.

Special guest Md. Abul Mansoor, secretary of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, said that the main theory of archeology is to draw clues from the past and give directions for the future. He said, the relevant architects, archaeologists and conservation engineers can learn adaptive technology for the future from the experience of renovation-conservation of archaeological structures including Hammamkhana. The secretary said, it is believed that the human race will live for a long time. They need technology to live comfortably. I am hopeful that more advanced ideas or technologies will come out in an environmentally friendly way from the experience of such renovation-conservation work.

Director General of the Department of Archeology Ratan Chandra Pandit said, efforts are being made to restore the Hammamkhana of Lalbagh Fort to its original form as much as possible. Apart from Hammamkhana, other structures of Lalbagh Fort will also be brought under the renovation-conservation program in phases.

The meeting was attended by professors of various universities, representatives of the administration, various stakeholders, public representatives, residents, archeology department and other departments and organizations.

Earlier, the State Minister visited the renovation and conservation activities of Hammam Khana in Lalbagh Fort.

Note that the proposal sent by the Directorate of Archeology was approved in the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation- Small Grants Competition (Fiscal Year 2020) organized by the United States Embassy, Bangladesh. The proposal sent by the Directorate of Archeology was- "Restoring, Retrofitting and 3D Architectural Documentation of Historical Mughal Hammam of Lalbag Fort, Lalbag, Dhaka, Bangladesh."

In view of the centenary of the birth of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the celebration of the golden jubilee of Bangladesh's independence and the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and the United States, this experimental project to preserve the important cultural heritage of Bangladesh has been undertaken.