Historic zamindar house may be lost forever

In Focus
Historic zamindar house may be lost forever
The last portion of Zamindar (landlord) Nagendra Narayan Acharya Chowdhury’s house in Muktagachha may just go into oblivion. The house, which has seen no human habitation for around 60 years, is now overrun by weeds due to the negligence of the concerned authority.
Nagendra Narayan had allotted this portion of his estate as a residence for his employees. The four-roomed house has a staircase at its rear end that once gave the house a resplendent appearance.
The late zamindar set up a school in the house for the female wards of the zamindars’ family in 1907. Since education was not the norm at the time, the altruistic zamindar’s initiative was welcomed by other landlords of the Muktagachha line.
As the number of students increased, the school was later shifted from the house in 1940 and was named Nagendra Narayan Poura Primary Girls’ School.
Though the house is a reminder of the glorious history of one of the Muktagachha zamindars, no government body or individual has come forward to preserve its rich history. The zamindars left the country after Partition in 1947 and since then the house has remained in a derelict state,
Now weeds have grown on the walls and roof of the house. To make matters worse, all the doors and windows of the house were stolen. Thankfully the mosaic floor is still in a reasonable condition.
“If repair work is carried out on the roof, doors and windows, the house could remain as a reminder of a rich past,” said Nazma Begum, an assistant teacher of the Nagendra Narayan Pilot Girls High School.
“I have not seen any renovation of the house since 1987 when I joined the school,” said Mohammad Saiful Islam, an assistant teacher of the school.
On different occasions, locals have demanded the renovation of the deserted houses of the Muktagachha zamindars. Their appeals have gone in vain, said AZM Imam Uddin Mukta, a veteran journalist from Muktagachha.
Advocate Badar Uddin Ahmed, chairman of Muktagacha Upazila Parishad told this correspondent that there has been no proper initiative to preserve the historic relics here.
Upazila Parishad with the assistance of the concerned department will take initiatives soon to preserve the uncared for historical relics so that a reminder remains of the country’s glorious history, said Advocate Badar Uddin Ahmed.

Courtesy of The Daily Star