Feature

More on conservation of heritage building

Dilkash Ahmed

The day'S article on young Bangladeshi architects taking up conservation of historic structures around the country is very encouraging. I would just like to add my two cents on this topic.

The practice of conservation goes hand in hand with routine maintenance of a property. Maintenance is also directly linked to finances. Therefore, in the context of Bangladesh's economy, maintenance has always been very poor or non-existent in most state-owned structures. Even brand new buildings look decrepit and worn out in a very short time. Forget about Jagannath Hall or Curzon Hall, just take a look at the much newer structures that dot the D.U. Campus such as the TSC, Library, or the main building of the Arts Faculty. They are all in such sorry state. The State's solution is to demolish and rebuild when structures become old and unsafe (and I won't even delve into the murky reasons why this is so!). I remember the uproar over the government's plans to demolish the Chittagong Courthouse some years ago. Luckily it has managed to evade the wrecking ball of the demolition crew. Being the skeptical person that I am when it comes to these matters, I am sure this is because an alternative structure to replace the old Courthouse didn't materialise.

The bottom line is, conservation requires money. Lots of it. We are not talking here about simple repairs but rather restoration and preservation of a structure in the style and manner it was originally built. Finances alone do not suffice in the absence of legislation that makes it mandatory to conserve historical structures. Needless to add that unless enforced, legislation of any kind is worthless.

Definitely the initiative of young architects to turn to conservation is a commendable one. Bangladesh doesn't have a well-defined architectural identity. Modern commercial and residential structures are for the most part a hotchpotch of all sorts of architectural styles. Probably the city planners and approving authorities that sanction new structures don't have qualified architects on board to look into the aesthetic aspect of the plans they approve for construction.

Dilkash Ahmed
8106 Meadow Springs Ct Vienna, VA 22182 USA.

Syed Kamrul Hasan

Thanks to Star Magazine the Editor & Publisher- to cover such a significant story titled: “Conservation Stirring up young minds”. Yes, we also agree “in the field of architecture, the trend of conserving historical sites is comparatively new.” And so the academics, young students and teachers have come forward and started work.Certainly, Media has a role to play to which The Daily Star has rightly responded.

The story has very clearly pointed out the role and the negligence of respective authority-the govt and department of Archeology, in conserving the sites. They are only “concerned about the buildings of Mughal Period. “On this backdrop, Dr.Abu Sayeed has taken a commendable initiative through starting a course on conservation in his department at University of Asia Pacific. This course will produce a bulk of young Architects for future conservation. I am sure; this step will push the other institutes at public & private sector to come up with conservation course for the young learners. I can remind the company of Dr.Sayeed in Colombo, in July 2004, where I was the only civil society participant from Bangladesh. It was one of the most significant conferences on heritage conservation in this region. Titled as: “Asian Heritage: New Alliances for Past, Present & Future”, the conference was organized by World Monuments Fund (WMF) and ICOMOS-Srilanka and gathered renowned historians, architects, historians, civil society members from different parts of the world. I can remind how helpless we (Dr.Sayeed and me) felt ourselves during the elaborate presentation of conservation experience from our fellow participants of neighboring countries. The experiences in Heritage Conservation of India and Srilanka were superb. Their govts are more serious about the issue, more pro-active and the money allocation in those sectors is quite substantial. In fact, the seriousness of their govt.draws the attention of International agencies and help to grow civil society organizations within the country in conservation field. Huge funding from International donors to preserve the Buddhist heritage in Srilanka made possible the govt.'s efforts to be more effective and sustainable. But as against the success stories of our neighboring countries we felt really helpless. The conference generated some recommendations and commitment to uphold the conservation issue in this region.Dr.Sayeed's initiative will no doubt contribute in materializing the conference commitment.

The interview with Pushpita, the budding architect involved in Panam City Conservation efforts, reminds my experience in conservation effort of this splendid old historical city through my organization. As playing token role as a civil society, we have facilitated the Archeology Department and WMF (World Monuments Fund) ,through UNESCO Bangladesh Country Office, in the process of getting the Panam City the status of “World Heritage Site”, which has been identified as one of the “100 most endangered sites” of the world by WMF. Behind the background, it was our intention that soon, Panam City would draw the attention of the donors and govt.would take the leadership in restoration and conservation work by involving the civil society and other stakeholders. Every body knows, also the story reflects-what is the present condition of this “world heritage site” (!)It is now occupied by illegal settlers and now at risk of full destruction from its original feature. It is so unfortunate! At least a year back, from our organization we have submitted Project proposal on Community awareness raising in conservation sites, for funding to capable donors.However, funding in conservation is also a slow area for the donors!

The concern of heritage conservation is new not only to the architects and archeologists, but also to our development activists. The issue of conservation and preservation of heritage sites and culture need to be mainstreamed in our development agenda. Our organization is also working to influence this policy area.

“Conservation stirring up Young minds”-is a wonderful and pioneering cover story.However, it focuses less on the civil society initiatives which the writer agrees-“Because of time constraint we could not contact all those who are working on conservation projects.” I hope, the “Star” will continue to support this agenda and strengthen the coordination among architects, academics, civil society activists and media people.

We believe conservation will be a movement in our country soon.

Syed Kamrul Hasan
Executive Director
LEAD (Learning,Education & Advocacy in Development)
skhasan02@yahoo.com

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