More than 150 years ago, an upmarket area developed in the south of Dhaka along an embankment on the northern fringes of the Buriganga River. The embankment was built in 1864 by Charles Thomas Buckland – the commissioner of Dhaka during the colonial era – to protect the shore from flooding and erosion, and to ease the movement of river traffic by preventing the build up of mudflats at low tide. By the late 19th century, however, the Buckland Bund had become a popular place for rest and recreation for the city’s middle and upper class residents, offering them an amazing view of the river. 
The Buckland Bund at Sadarghat, Old Dhaka Syed Zakir Hossain Recognizing its architectural and historical significance, in February 2009 the government declared the embankment a heritage structure through a gazette published by Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk). A total of 92 other structures on 13 roads spread over four areas were also declared as heritage sites for their “historic, aesthetic, scientific and social importance”. These sites included Hrishikesh Das Road, Shakhari Bazar Road, Tati Bazar Road and BK Das Road, under Farashganj, Shakhari Bazar, Sutrapur and Ramna. However, under pressure from residents, Rajuk amended the heritage list on November 29, 2017, removing 18 formerly listed Mughal and British heritage structures including Buckland Bund. “The heritage list published by the government in 2009 was a result of a long struggle to preserve the history and tradition of the capital,” Architect Taimur Islam told the Dhaka Tribune. Taimur – who is the chief executive of the Urban Study Group (USG), a non-profit volunteer organization which aims to protect the historic urban fabric of Old Dhaka – said that in the months following the amendment of the list, the large-scale destruction of heritage sites has been taking place in Old Dhaka. “These structures should have been preserved for their heritage and aesthetic value,” Taimur said. “Unfortunately the withdrawal of protection for the structures following the recently published amended list has encouraged people to believe that they are expendable. “In the new list published by the government, the whole concept of area conservation has been dropped while significant heritage buildings from the areas have been removed from protection.”
Incomplete and faulty list
Old Dhaka resident Yousuf Khan said the High Court issued an order to formulate an extensive list of heritage structures when the Zilla Parishad Building was being demolished in 2012. “There is still no evidence of any government initiative to implement the order,” he said. “There are many historic buildings and structures in Old Dhaka, but very few are listed for protection. People are destroying these priceless buildings in order to build structures that will yield money.” USG chief Taimur said that following the High Court order, a committee was formed to draw up a rough list of 1,600 buildings and structures but this was itself dissolved in 2016 after failing to form the list. Since then the government has removed protection for a number of important heritage structures, resulting in an amended list which conservationists and experts have branded “incomplete and faulty”.
They have demanded the implementation of the High Court order immediately as a large number of architecturally significant buildings, especially in Old Dhaka, have been torn down over the past couple of years with still more threatened with demolition. Sources said that one historic building, Holding No 26 under BK Das Road, has been demolished recently and that the demolition of Holding No 2 of Shakhari Bazar has also begun. Moreover, the demolition of other buildings is underway in various areas including Rajar Deuri and Kailash Lane. “I urge the government to cancel the faulty list and formulate a complete and sustainable, development-friendly list which will protect all heritage sites,” Yousuf Khan said.
Why so many structures dropped from the list
The declaration of the 2009 heritage list caused problems for many Old Dhaka residents, especially private property owners. The development control wing of Rajuk notified the private owners of the heritage properties and told them that their buildings and surrounding areas could not be demolished fully or partially, or be rebuilt, altered, or modified without the agency’s permission. 
Shankhanidhee House on Tipu Sultan House Syed Zakir Hossain “The owners of those buildings could not do anything on their property without government permission,” Raj Hossain, a resident of Hrishikesh Das Lane in Old Dhaka, said. “If any window or door of the building got damaged, we would not be able to repair it without their approval, which involves a lengthy and complicated process.” A high official of Rajuk seeking anonymity said they watered down the heritage list after receiving several complaints from Old Dhaka residents. “Facing enormous pressure from the Housing and Public Works Ministry, Rajuk along with the Archeological Department and other stakeholders decided to amend the heritage list in order to avoid public harassment,” he said. Rajuk Chairman Abdur Rahman was unavailable for his comment in this regard despite several attempts to reach him via phone. However, he said in an earlier media statement that a new heritage list was formulated after necessary assessment. “Structures that were not feasible keeping in line with the development of infrastructure were taken off the list,” he said. “There was an urgency to widen the roads, which is why the previously protected areas have been omitted.”
No initiative to introduce TDR
Experts and conservationists suggested the speedy introduction of the Transfer of Development Right (TDR) concept in order to compensate the private owners of the listed heritage properties and persuade them to cooperate with the conservation guidelines. USG Chief Taimur said the TDR system – popular in Europe and the United States – has also been introduced in India. “West Bengal is a good example of the TDR system protecting historical structures,” he said. “The government must come forward with necessary support for property owners, otherwise structures under private ownership cannot be saved.” However, government officials said they had no plans to introduce the TDR system in the country right now. Rajuk’s Development Control 1 Director Dr Muhammad Mosharraf Hosen said: “There is currently no plan to compensate private owners and taking their property for conservation.” Archeological Department’s Dhaka Division Regional Director Rakhi Roy said the department was not responsible for publishing or amending the heritage list. “We have a separate list of heritage structures and buildings, and they are properly protected,” she said.
