Saving the nation's heritage

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BANGLADESH is one of the few countries of the world with heritage and symbols of a civilized existence that dates back to not hundred but thousands of years. The historical sites, monuments, objects and other artifacts ought to be among our proud possessions to be treasured and saved from all kinds of stealers and human neglect. But it is a very unpalatable reality that many heritage sites remain utterly neglected throughout the country. They are not even covered by minimum care and presentation under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
A seminar was recently held in Dhaka on the ways and means to save our heritage. It was attended by distinguished personalities from different fields. Indeed, more and more people's awareness is getting drawn to this issue. It was only due to people's awareness that many invaluable artifacts of Bangladesh which were about to be trafficked to a French museum as exhibits could be saved.
The spirit shown at that time by conscious people need to be sustained and sharpened to make demands on the government to take all-out measures to save our heritage. All objects and structures of heritage value must be brought under government control for their maintenance and proper care. Government should also increase allocations in the national budget to this end.
Mustafa Kamal
Mohammadpur
Dhaka