Visitors to the fort will be able to witness the historical events of the incomplete Mughal palace fortress through modern laser lighting and sound system at night.

"Through this modern system, a spotlight will focus on Pari Bibi's Mazar within the ramparts, with simultaneous narration on a hi-tech surround sound system, describing historical background of the shrine," said Habibur Rahman, custodian of Lalbagh Fort Museum.

"The light will also streak through each building of the fort with brilliance -- every moment re-living the memories of the Mughal rule amid descriptions on speakers that might transport the audience back to the half-forgotten past," he added.

Last Sunday, State Minister for Cultural Affairs, Selima Rahman, formally inaugurated the Light and Sound project at the Lalbagh Fort.

According to the proposal, the project is to be completed in three phases. The first phase that was inaugurated was completed in June. The second phase will include the main project work and is expected to finish by end 2006/beginning 2007 while the last phase will be completed by June 2007.

The second phase will incur a cost of Tk 5.9 crore.

"After the entire installation we will be able to fix the times and fee for the show," said a source of the Archaeological Directorate.

The 25-minute light and sound show will be presented three times every evening, and is expected to attract a lot of tourists and visitors.

"The specialty of the programme is the surround sound system. No-one tried anything like this here before," said Shafiqul Alam, director of the Archaeological Directorate adding that shows like this are held at the Delhi Red Fort and it will be first experimented here.

"The architectural heritage of Old Dhaka can be a very good source of entertainment for city dwellers, and the government approved the 'Light and Sound' event at this Fort so that all, including foreigners could learn our architectural heritage," he said.

However, during the conversation with this correspondent, Habibur Rahman said that it was important to widen the narrow road and take steps for visitors' security.

"As the old city is an over populated area and almost all of the roads are narrow, authorities should take steps to widen some roads leading to the Fort," he said adding that tight security measures should also be applied.

The construction of the fort that began in 1678 is not complete. Prince Muhammad Azam started construction of the fort during his 15-month vice-royalty of Bengal, but before he could complete the work, Aurangzeb called him back. His successor, Shaista Khan did not continue the work though he stayed in Dhaka up to 1688. Shaista Khan's daughter Pari Bibi (fairy lady) died here in 1684 and this led him to consider the fort to be ominous.

Three buildings -- the Diwan-i-Aam and the Hammam on the east, the mosque on the west and the tomb of Pari Bibi between the two -- all in line, but not at equal distance, occupy the central area of the fort.

A water channel with fountains at regular intervals connect the three buildings from east to west and two similar channels run from south to north, one through the middle of the ground between the Diwan-i-Aam and the tomb forming a square tank with fountains at the intersection with the east-west channel, and the other from the water reservoir passing through the bottom of the tomb.

The Lalbagh Fort Mosque is a three-domed mosque with a water tank in front (on the eastern side) for ablution.

The rectangular fort encompasses an area of 1,082 x 800 square feet (sq ft). Only some gateways and a long fortification wall with semi-octagonal bastions on the south side and high defence walls running along the western side remain. The two monumental gateways at the southeast and northeast ends face each other at a distance of 800 ft.

Admission to the fort is Tk 5. The fort is open in winter from Sunday through Wednesday from 10:00am to 5:00pm; Friday from 2:30pm to 5:30pm and closed on Thursday and holidays. From April to October its opening and closing times are half an hour later.