Ekhushey February: Many port city dwellers to pay tribute at makeshift Shaheed Minar
Civil society members in Chattogram have decided to pay tribute to the Language Martyrs of 1952 at a makeshift Shaheed Minar on February 21 to mark International Mother Language Day.
They expressed disappointment over the design of the newly-built Shaheed Minar on KC Dey Road in the port city's Nandan Kanan area, which they said is not properly visible from the road.
The decision came in a meeting of freedom fighters, cultural and political activists and civil society members from port city held at Chattogram City Corporation with CCC Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury in the chair on Monday, said sources.
"There was greenery around the Central Shaheed Minar located on a hill beside KC Dey Road in Nandan Kanan area before it was demolished. But the newly-built memorial lacks greenery, and is invisible from the road, being covered by concrete structures from all sides, including a 21 feet high overpass to connect with the Muslim Institute Sangskritik Complex," said Ekushey Padak-winner laureate and theatre personality Ahmed Iqbal Haider.
"The Shaheed Minar is not merely a structure; it's a place of emotion of mass people. The architect should have considered this aspect while designing it," he also said.
"A group of architects on behalf of the port city residents sent some proposals around a month ago to the authorities concerned to redesign the concrete structures around the memorial to make it visible. However, there has not been any response in this regard yet so we decided to pay tribute at the makeshift memorial," he added.
Earlier, the port city's civil society members also paid tribute to the makeshift memorial on Chittagong Municipal Model High School premises on December 16 on same ground.
The CCC mayor formed an eight-member expert committee in this regard, comprising architects and engineers, and headed by chief town planner of CCC. The committee has already visited the site and will submit a report with recommendations to the mayor and then the mayor will submit a proposal to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, said Rahul Guha, executive engineer of Public Works Department in Chattogram.
"If we get any instruction from the ministry to revise the structural design, we will take steps accordingly," he added.