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A nice artwork messed up

Belal Hossain Biplob
The eye-catching mural at the capital's New Market-Nilkhet intersection has literally gone out of sight.
The wall painting depicts Dhaka city's colourful history of 400 years. But thanks to negligence of the city corporation, makeshift shops set up by hawk-
ers along the wall obstruct the view of the artwork.
Hawkers from around the area also dump their wastes alongside the wall, ruining the lower portion of the painting.
Created by Mrinal Haque, the 80 feet long and eight feet high artwork was built in 2006 ahead of the celebration of Dhaka's 400 years. The undivided Dhaka City
Corporation initiated and supervised the project.
The noted sculptor expressed frustration over the sorry state of the spot, and held the city corporation responsible for it.
Some officials of the city corporation and Heritage, the firm that implemented the project, looted the sponsor's money collected for the work, he alleged. Because of
this, the project is yet to be completed.
So far, Tk 7 lakh was spent on the project, with much of the work remaining undone.
“The firm did not even pay my contract money. I sent two letters to the city corporation authorities demanding the money, but nobody responded," Mrinal tells
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The Daily Star.
He says he still wants to complete the work if assisted by the authorities.
“As per the contact, Heritage was supposed to give me the contract money. But I did not get a single taka,” Mrinal adds.
Those doing business occupying the footpath there, thus blocking the view of the piece, say they are unaware of the significance of the mural or even the existence of it.
“I am doing business here for the last six years but nobody told me about it. I saw people urinating and dumping debris along the wall," said Jahangir Khan, a hawker.
“Why did the authorities
spend so much money to create such a beautiful artwork if they cannot take care of it?” says Babul Mia, a shopkeeper at New Market.
Mohiuddin Majumder, whose makeshift shop also covers the painting, said neither the city corporation nor anybody else told them about the importance of the mural.
Asked, he said the hawkers are to pay the police for doing business there.
But New Market Police Station Officer-in-charge Mostafizur Rahman dismissed the allegation, terming it false.
Rafeya Abedin, managing director of Heritage, said they failed to pay Mrinal, as they could not collect money through advertise-
ment due to opposition from the city corporation.
She, however, said her firm would pay Mrinal his due and also complete the mural if the city corporation allowed the firm to set up billboards over the mural to collect revenue.
ANM Iftekharul Haque, who was then in charge of the city corporation's beautification cell, supports Rafeya and blames the then city corporation authorities for not allowing Heritage to setup billboards.
“We gave Heritage the permission to build the mural but there was no condition in the agreement that the city corporation will finance the project. There was a verbal agree-
ment with Rafeya for setting up of a billboard there. But it was not approved by the authorities concerned," he added.
Such decisions and negligence of the city corporation authorities are the main reasons for the ruining of the beautiful artwork, he said.
Contacted, Mohammad Tajul Islam, chief estate officer of DCC (South), said the city authorities were continuously removing the illegal structures from across the city.
“I do not have any idea about Mrinal Haque's mural. However, we evict hawkers from the illegally occupied area, but they return within a few days and set those up again," hetoldTheDailyStar.