& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

400 Years of Dhaka

Binat Bibi cries for rescue

The oldest mosque smothered in new structures fears distortion

Durdana Ghias
Six hundred-year-old Binat Bibi Mosque, the oldest structure in the city, is counting days amid a dilapidated state when Dhaka prepares to celebrate its 400 years.
The mosque in Narinda dates back to as early as the preMughal Sultanate period according to historians and conservation architects.
Built in 1457 by Bakht Binat, during the sultanate of Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah I, it is a precious piece in the history of the city.
Parween Hasan, professor of history at Dhaka University, vividly described for the first time about the splendid past of the mosque in her book.
Single hemispherical dome atop a square room, arches on south, north and eastern sides, octagonal turret, modest orna-
mentation, plaster coating and curved cornices are the original features of the mosque.
On a visit to the site last week this correspondent found the mosque withering away amid pitiable neglect while the grave of Bakht Binat lies uncared-for in a small plot near the mosque.
"It is a gem on the list of our heritage. The people of Narinda share pride in it but they did little to preserve or protect the mosque," lamented an elderly resident of the locality.
The cute original structure of the tiny mosque has been overshadowed by a 4-storey building and a three-storey extension is being built abutting the historic site knocking down its walls.
Just a year ago the mosque was visible from three sides but now only its two domes and lately built front veranda can be seen from the street. The sight is almost obstructed by a boundary
wall and the hew building.
In March last year when the mosque committee was hellbent on building a minaret with piling within a few feet of the old mosque, a group of conservation architects intervened to save the rickety structure. But the move went in vain for lack of state support and funds constraint.
Although law forbids any new structure within 500 feet of a protected site nothing could be done to stop the work as the mosque remains exempted from the list of the Department of Architecture (DoA).
Dr Abu Sayeed M Ahmed, a conservation architect with expertise on mosque architecture said last year they presented the mosque committee a design for tire minaret while saving the old mosque.
"We made a proposal for restoring the old mosque in order to manifest its beauty and
making an open plaza surrounding it on our own," said Dr Sayeed, a member of the group.
"We designed seven models of the extension of the mosque to save the old structure and tried to convince the mosque committee. At first they agreed to accept one. We did the measurement of the ground. Then they stopped the work citing Ramadan but later it did not resume due to lack of funds since last September," he said.
"The piling was too close to the original mosque while the extension building generated too much pressure on the soil threatening every possibility of cracks in the original structure," he added.
Muslimuddin, president of the mosque committee, said that they have a plan to make the building 8-storey high so that it can accommodate more people during the Jumma prayers.
About the fate of the original structure he said he would keep it as it is as long as he is alive but he does not know what the next generation would do with it. "I will be happy if the government takes care of the mosque," he said.
He said the mosque committee has a plan to extend the building over the original dome using the pillars on the four sides of it in case they needed more space in future. In that case the dome will be visible only from the veranda on the first floor of the mosque.
About the intervention of the architects last year he said the move did not succeed due to lack of funds.
The mosque has seen four extensions to date. During th< first extension around 80 years ago, a dome was built atop a room. Around 20 years ago a 2-storey building was built beside the mosque. During third extension it was turned into a 4-storey building. Finally, the 4-storey building is being extended with another 3-storey structure, besides a high minaret, with the ground floor abutting the original mosque.
About the mosque committee's plan to build a minaret Dr Sayeed said historically there were no minarets in the Mughal and pre-Mughal structures. "Minaret is not a part of the traditional mosque architecture in this country. It is a new feature in the last 70 years. Adding a minaret to this ancient mosque is a kind of distortion,” he said.
Acknowledging the role of media reports in saving the 600-year old structure Dr Shafiqul Alam, director, DoA, said that the DoA is going to take steps and send a proposal to the ministry to protect the mosque.
"I went to the place a week ago and saw for myself the condition of the mosque. They have already distorted a fair part of the exterior of the original dome by chini-tikri work. Moreover, they have constructed a twin replica beside it. But the interior of the dome is still intact. So we are hopeful of saving it. Soon we will send a proposal to the ministry to enlist the mosque," said the director.