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Railway memorial being neglected

SyedTashfin Chowdhury
The under construction monument at the Kamalapur Railway Station, commemorating the employees of Bangladesh Railway became martyrs of the War of Independence, still remains incomplete.
According to residents of the area, the recent beautification project around the monument stands to jeopardize the condition ofwhatever exists of it.
"As it was a project undertaken by the previous government, the current government has not shown much interest in completingit," said an official of the Kamalapur Railway station.
The construction began in December 2000 before it got discontinued inMay, 2001.
The official unveiling of the
monument was never held and no attempt was made to complete it during the last three years.
The walls of the monument are not plastered in many spots. Right next to the monument is a bush from where stench of urine and human excrement come out.
"This is ruining the image of the monument," said Shahedul Islam, a resident of the area. On the other side of the monument is a nursery from where rubbish and other disposable materials are indiscriminately dumped inside the monument's premises.
With the upcoming SAARC summit, the Kamalapur Railway Station is being beautified by an agency called ITCL under contract from the Roads and
Highways Department.
The footpaths and the streets along the station are being extended. According to.sources, a two-meter pavement will be constructed right next to the monument.
"But that will also extend the street and bring it nearer to the monument," ShahedpointedouL
"We can not do anything with tlje monument until we get further instructions from higher authorities," said an official of the Bangladesh Railway.
Fences enclose the 80 feet long and 55 feet wide monument Tire four steps of it consist of brick tiles. The monument holds the names of the 186 employees and officials of the Bangladesh Railway who died during theWaroflndependence.
Even though the names of
these individuals were collected extremely tediously, the monument is not being maintained or respected in the appropriate manner.
"We aim to increase maintenance standards of the memorial to the best of our ability in the near future," said Anhar Mahmood, Divisional Railway Manager, Dhaka.
According to other sources, the Muktijoddha Command Council (MCC), a body within Bangladesh Railway, came up with the idea of the memorial and most officials of the railway think the council is responsible for the maintenance of the monument.
But the limited and inefficient manpower of the MCC only adds to the neglect suffered byffie monument.