OUR CORRESPONDENT, Patuakhali

Activists of BNP and its affiliated organisations allegedly demolished the Bangabandhu Boat Museum in Barguna, the country’s lone boat museum, on Saturday.

Despite the museum’s location near the administrative offices in Barguna town, including the DC office and Sadar Police Station, local authorities did not take any step to prevent the vandalism, alleged locals.

The museum, shaped like a boat measuring 165 feet in length and 30 feet in width, was inaugurated on December 31, 2020 by Mustain Billah, the then deputy commissioner of Barguna.

It was set up on 78 decimals of land adjacent to the Barguna DC office, showcasing replicas of 100 varieties of traditional boats, including many that have gone extinct.

Contacted, Barguna DC Md Shafiul Alam said he had heard about the incident, adding that it fell under the municipality’s jurisdiction to take steps in this connection.

Former BNP district organising secretary Rezbul Kabir, former central Jubo Dal assistant organising secretary Muraduzzaman Khan, and district Jubo Dal organising secretary Muraduzzaman Khan (Tipon), allegedly led the vandalism, deploying local BNP, Jubo Dal and Chhatra Dal activists.

Rezbul Kabir claimed that the site originally had a municipal library and that the previous administration built the boat museum to please the then ruling AL.

Muraduzzaman said, “The Bangabandhu Boat Museum was demolished due to public outrage over its name. We demand that it be replaced with the Shaheed Zia Memorial Library.”

Contacted, Animesh Biswas, additional deputy commissioner (general) and administrator of Barguna municipality, said, “A mob came and dismantled the museum. This land belongs to the municipality and had a public library here once. Later, the then DC set up the museum privately. There was no government allocation for it.”