FROM PAGE 14

genocide, and letters written by martyrs.

The collection also includes over 10,000 photographs and around 2,000 video clips, and numerous rare documents.

Due to prolonged closure and lack of maintenance, the condition of most of the valuable artefacts are now deteriorating day by day, said museum officials.

“Initially, we planned to keep the museum closed for a few days due to fear of political unrest. But later, we faced severe financial crisis. That is why, we could not open it,” said a trustee board member, seeking anonymity.

The museum’s operational expenses are being borne from interest on bank deposits of trustees and government funds.

Sheikh Baharul Alam, a trustee of the archive and museum, said, “Due to political reasons, the funds and initiatives to reopen the museum have been suspended. We have spoken to many people to restart it. We did not receive the expected response.”

He added that the trustee board manages the museum. “Electricity bills, staff salaries, and other operational costs amount to Tk 60 to 65 lakh annually. All kinds of government and non-government funds have been stopped. There is no alternative.”

There were around a dozen employees in the museum. All of them have been terminated due to fund shortage, he said.

Moniruzzaman Moni, commander of the Khulna city unit of the Muktijoddha Sangsad, said the museum should be opened urgently to preserve the history of the Liberation War and genocide.

ASM Zamshed Khondaker, deputy commissioner of Khulna, could not be reached over phone, despite repeated attempts.

Contacted, Sadekul Islam, secretary of Bangladesh National Museum, said, “We [the museum authority] handed over the Khulna Liberation War museum to its trustee board around two years ago. We don’t know about its update.”

The construction of the museum’s new building was completed in 2024 at a cost of around Tk 32 crore in the city’s South Central Road area with the aim to preserve rare evidence of the Liberation War and genocide of 1971.

A trustee board is authorised to operate the museum under the Bangladesh National Museum.

The six-storey building was opened for visitors in May last year.