Bangladesh Travel Guide Archive

The cultural history of Bangladesh is very rich and the cultural lives of the local people always been very colorful. This can be seen in the many heritage sites across the country. But when I hear that these heritage sites which are the symbol of our rich culture are being demolished, my heart cries and my head start boiling in anger. Isn’t there anything we can do to save these magnificent heritage sites?

There are nearly thousands of historical sites in various part of the country; Dhaka alone has more than hundred heritage sites. As a capital city Dhaka should have the capability to look after its precious sites which bear the old architectural tradition and important historical events. But in reality that isn’t the case. It was proved once again by the news of the demolishment of Bara Katra a historically important place, nearly 400 years old.

Bara Katra was built by Shah Shuja, the then subedar (governor) of Bengal and son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1644. The word Katra may have originated from Arabic word Katara which means colonnaded building.  In ancient architectural term Katra is a form of dormitory building around an oblong courtyard and used as a home for some of the rulers, members of the royal court and the nobility.

Bara Katra is placed on the south of Chawkbazaar near river Buriganga and is the most stunning construction built by Mughal’s in Dhaka. But due to negligence of the authorities to keep it safe, Bara Katra is falling apart. Only the southern gate and two of the turrets of the once a magnificent palatial building remains. But now the remains are in danger of complete destruction as a nearby madrasha named Jamia Hossainiya Ashraful Ulum Madrasa start demolishing Bara Katra to build urinals and washrooms which is illegal to say the least.

After  a general diary filed by the Urban Study Group with Chawkbazar Police Station, the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) inspector stopped the demolition of the building. If the authorities did their duty earlier than it wouldn’t had happen in the first place. Not only is the Bara Katra, many other national heritages throughout Dhaka as well as all over Bangladesh are in danger of extinction due to lack of care by the authority. So government should look hard into this matter and have to take steps to prevent destruction of national heritages or our treasure of glorious past will be lost forever.