Museum bus ban
City Correspondent
School children of Dhaka City may lose a unique opportunity to visit The National Museum located at Shahbagh. Under a special programme, for the past two decades, a bus sponsored by the museum has been transporting children from different schools to keep them in touch with many aspects of history and culture at home and abroad. The move to ban 20-year-old buses and trucks from the roads has been a big blow to the city's school children. The only bus, which drove them to the museum, has fallen under the ban. "The bus was purchased in 1976. After that the museum could not afford to buy another one for school children over the years. After the ban, a year has gone by, no bus hasn't been procured yet," regrets a source at the National Museum. "We are trying to expedite things relating to buying a new bus so as to restart the children's programme. Our proposals need to go through a number of channels and departments of the government. A few months ago, we have requested the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to examine and the bus and declare it abandoned. After this procedure, we can only approach the Ministry of Culture for a new one," says Director General of the Bangladesh National Museum Iftikhar-ul-Awaal. Another programme of the Museum, the Mobile Exhibition Bus, has also embraced the same fate like the children one, as it is not operating any more since the ban. The idea of the mobile bus is to make the people outside of Dhaka aware of some elements of the past like swords, clothes and other valuables of kings of this land. "After the final nod from the Ministry of Culture we will buy a bus. Then the programme will see the light of the day," says Iftikar-ul-Awaal. Meanwhile, the electronic security system of the National Museum has also not been functioning for a long time. This security system consisted of close circuit cameras and monitors, which were installed way back in 1986. "Instead of fixing the system, we are thinking of replacing the old electronic security with a more sophisticated one. We have already discussed this matter with the ministry. Now our experts care checking out the best possible alternatives in the market. Very soon, the National Museum will have a new but modern electronic security system," says Iftikhar-ul-Awaal. Adequate manpower of the museum is another problem. As many as 357 people work there. Out of 357, 50 posts including a number of important ones have been lying vacant. "Owing to vacant posts we sometimes cannot function smoothly. Nonetheless for the first time in the history of Bangladesh National Museum, its activities are thriving more than before", says optimist Iftikhar-ul-Awaal.
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