Paper laws, broken bricks: What lies ahead for Dhaka’s remaining archaeological heritage?

Rickshaws squeezing through narrow lanes between cramped houses, endless traffic jams, noise in every direction, and sheer chaos: that is Old Dhaka. Yet the southern part of the capital still holds within it many traces of the city’s past. Some of these old structures have already vanished completely, others are occupied and falling apart, some are being demolished. Although calls to preserve these historically valuable structures have come from various quarters at various times, bringing them under government control is no small challenge. The Rajdhani Unnayan Katrtripakkha (RAJUK), Dhaka city's development authority, says the responsibility for preserving historic buildings lies with the Department of Archaeology, but it will assist if requested. Organisations working on heritage argue that the Department of...