Tweet
The Daily Star, Bangladesh
June 21 2013
Relics left unprotected
Tamanna Khan
Though listed for preservation by Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha, the
232-year-old Armenian church in Old Dhaka is yet to be recognised as a
protected heritage site by the Department of Archaeology.
`As part of our efforts to declare the church a protected heritage
site, we sent four letters to the deputy commissioner's office asking
for land schedule [details on land] of the church,' said Rakhi Roy,
deputy director (antiquity) of the Department of Archaeology.
`But we are yet to receive any reply,' she said, adding that the
department sent the DC office two letters in 2000, one in 2010 and
another on June 6, 2011.
But the land division of the DC office said it could not trace any of
the letters sent by the Department of Archaeology.
About the letters, DC Shaikh Yusuf Harun said, `Hundreds of letters
arrive every day in this office. If they [officials of the Department
of Archaeology] are so keen on obtaining the land schedule of the
church, they should have contacted us over the phone after sending the
letters.'
While the whereabouts of the letters remain a mystery, time continues
to take its toll on the stone inscriptions on the Armenian graves that
lie in the premises of the age-old church in Armanitola.
Archaeologist Dr Sufi Mostafiz said, `The stone inscriptions at the
church premises carry historical value, as they tell stories of
Dhaka's lost Armenian community.'
But the Department of Archaeology said it didn't have any list of the
stone inscriptions at the church.
Even the Committee for Documentation on Architectural Sites in Dhaka
couldn't obtain a complete list of stone inscriptions there.
Committee Chairman Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique, also vice chancellor of
Dhaka University, said, `We contacted the church's custodian Michael
Joseph Martin. He declined to give us information, saying since it is
a private property he was not liable to disclose any information about
it.'
Martin could not be reached for comment as he is now abroad for
medical treatment.
The church was included in the 2009 Rajuk gazette, in which 93
buildings and four areas were listed for preservation, said Taimur
Islam, Chief Executive of Urban Study Group that campaigns for
conservation of architectural and urban heritage of Old Dhaka.
He said the Department of Archaeology could enter into an agreement
with the church authorities under Section 12 of the Antiquity Law that
allows protection of historically significant buildings and sites
without acquisition of land by the department.
http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/relics-left-unprotected/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
June 21 2013
Relics left unprotected
Tamanna Khan
Though listed for preservation by Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha, the
232-year-old Armenian church in Old Dhaka is yet to be recognised as a
protected heritage site by the Department of Archaeology.
`As part of our efforts to declare the church a protected heritage
site, we sent four letters to the deputy commissioner's office asking
for land schedule [details on land] of the church,' said Rakhi Roy,
deputy director (antiquity) of the Department of Archaeology.
`But we are yet to receive any reply,' she said, adding that the
department sent the DC office two letters in 2000, one in 2010 and
another on June 6, 2011.
But the land division of the DC office said it could not trace any of
the letters sent by the Department of Archaeology.
About the letters, DC Shaikh Yusuf Harun said, `Hundreds of letters
arrive every day in this office. If they [officials of the Department
of Archaeology] are so keen on obtaining the land schedule of the
church, they should have contacted us over the phone after sending the
letters.'
While the whereabouts of the letters remain a mystery, time continues
to take its toll on the stone inscriptions on the Armenian graves that
lie in the premises of the age-old church in Armanitola.
Archaeologist Dr Sufi Mostafiz said, `The stone inscriptions at the
church premises carry historical value, as they tell stories of
Dhaka's lost Armenian community.'
But the Department of Archaeology said it didn't have any list of the
stone inscriptions at the church.
Even the Committee for Documentation on Architectural Sites in Dhaka
couldn't obtain a complete list of stone inscriptions there.
Committee Chairman Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique, also vice chancellor of
Dhaka University, said, `We contacted the church's custodian Michael
Joseph Martin. He declined to give us information, saying since it is
a private property he was not liable to disclose any information about
it.'
Martin could not be reached for comment as he is now abroad for
medical treatment.
The church was included in the 2009 Rajuk gazette, in which 93
buildings and four areas were listed for preservation, said Taimur
Islam, Chief Executive of Urban Study Group that campaigns for
conservation of architectural and urban heritage of Old Dhaka.
He said the Department of Archaeology could enter into an agreement
with the church authorities under Section 12 of the Antiquity Law that
allows protection of historically significant buildings and sites
without acquisition of land by the department.
http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/relics-left-unprotected/
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress