Of circular waterways, our heritage and low bridges
A journey through the waters of ancient Dhaka
The sketch of Paglar Pul, from the rare work ‘Antiquities of Dacca’, by Charles D’Oyly. Etched (probably from steel plates) and also published by John Landseer, 33 Foley Street, London 1814-1827.
The 27th Vice Chancellor of the Dhaka University, Dr AAMS Arefin looked visibly disturbed. The BIWTA pontoon on which Dr Arefin, distinguished guests and scores of journalists stood at Badamtoli on September 19, was far from pleasant. The 62-year old intellectual’s annoyance was, in fact, triggered by the squalid condition of the river Buriganga around the pontoon. Piles of rubbish littered the surrounding and were floating on the water, trapped by the huge pontoons.
The fact that he was regretful was clearly pointed out in his inaugural speech as he expressed concerns about the degrading environment of the river. Thus started the daylong event of exploration of the 110-kilometer long Dhaka Circular Waterway and its links to our heritage on the banks of the five rivers; encompassing one of the most densely populated capitals in the world.
At the start of the day, Dr. Arefin (centre) welcomes the group and expresses his concerns about the degrading environment of the rivers.
This daylong event was organized by the Committee for Documentation of Architectural Sites in Dhaka, a platform run purely by volunteers, with Dr Arefin as its Chairperson. Tarun Sarkar and Ahmed Moniruddin Tapu, among other volunteers, coordinated the event with a view to unveil the immense potential of our rivers.
Accompanying the group were experts from the Institute of Architects and one of its researchers, Dr Abu Sayeed M Ahmed, who had dedicated years studying the architectural features of the country’s numerous heritage sites.
As soon as the rented M L Water Bus -5 arrived at Pagla Ghat, it was time to see what exists of the Paglar Pul (literally meaning bridge of the mad man) built by the Moghuls in the 16th century. Just a few feet away from the shore of the river stood the dangerously tilted remains of an ancient structure, about 15 feet high. The first impression of the structure suggests it has nothing to do with a bridge, but rather the remains of a dome (mott) that the Hindus build to commemorate the dead. Hundreds of these ancient motts can still be found all over the country. It is impossible standing near Paglar Pul and its chaotic surroundings, to imagine a waterway, on which stood ‘the bridge of the madman.’ A part of the bridge was taken over years ago, in order to build a Hindu temple. Today, the temple is a testimony to our pitiful sense of conserving traditional ethics.
A family walks on, with the dangerously tilted remains of the ancient structure of Paglar Pul in the background.
Sir Charles D’Oyly (1781-1845), between 1808 and 1811 was the British Collector of Dhaka. However, Charles was better known for his unbelievable talent as an artist. His sketches of Dhaka’s landmarks (he compiled a folio called Antiquities of Dacca) are rare references for historians to have a glimpse at the glorious past of our city. For instance, his sketch of a dilapidated Paglar Pul, is so vivid that during those times the bridge was quoted as “one of the most elegant structures of Dacca”. Today, the elegance has been devoured by the mindless growth of our famished civilization.
It was time to get back to our Circular Waterway and head for Munshiganj on the sangam of the rivers Dhaleshwari, Buriganga, Meghna and Sitalakhya. Not far from the landing station, the two-layer Fort Idrakpur looked acceptably renovated, but there was no signboard at the site to introduce the relic from Mughul period, built sometime in 1610. Fort Idrakpur was said to be built at a time when the Mughal invaders were consolidating their grip on this part of India. It was also when the formidable Mughal army was slowly being introduced to gunpowder.
The elevated part of the round-shaped fort acts like a concrete shield, from which four rectangular openings pointing at four different angles downward were used as firing holes. The barracks and outer perimeters of the fort have all vanished. What perplexed the archaeologists during its restoration was the discovery of a floor on the higher level. Underneath this floor was found hundreds of earthen pitchers, placed upside down. It was probably the small living quarters of Fort Idrakpur’s commander, and the pitchers underneath the floor ensured a comfortable temperature all year round.
A woman walks down the steps from the fort.
Not too long ago, the district administrator of Munshiganj had his residence built on top of the fort. It was removed during the restoration program. But what remains to be done is to recover the fort’s land from a very influential recreational club next door.
Dr Abu Sayeed explains that Fort Idrakpur, one of four built during the same period at strategic points, was the furthest fort from Dhaka, the capital of Bengal. “It was situated by the river Ichamoti, which is now totally extinct,” he adds.
The consolidation period of the Mughals was between 1610 and 1704, when Bengal was opened to business. Big sail ships plied the huge rivers and the oceans, transporting wide range of goods. After this period, the area became a focal point for the ruthless Arakanese and Portuguese pirates, who raided the villages and the ports and vanished with the loot as quickly as they came.
“These forts were strategically built along the waterways to fend off those pirates,” Dr Abu Sayeed adds.
We were soon on the Circular Waterway again, leaving Dhaleshwari for Sitalakhya and heading for Narayanganj. It was time to enjoy the hustle and bustle of the river Sitalakhya, along which jute industries had once grown. Today, the most noticeable activity on the river was the traffic of sand laden vessels heading north.
Hajiganj in Narayanganj is the home to another Moghul fort. The only difference is that Fort Hajiganj has only a single layer of defense and that is the elevated part. The first impression was dismal. The entrance to this historic site is a rubbish dump. It is a sorry reminder to how pathetically we perceive our history.
Not far from Fort Hajiganj is the tomb of Bibi Marium. No one knows for sure who she was but the neatness of the mausoleum complex undeniably points to her authoritative stature within the Moghul quarters. The arches and the corridors have been meticulously restored. But the place bestows a strange sadness amid unexpected tranquility.
The two storey concrete mosque built on the exact location of the historically significant Bibi Marium mosque.
Visitors could probably soon discover the cause of the woe in the cool breeze. Within the complex, in front of the tomb,the Moghuls had also built a three-dome mosque known widely as Bibi Marium Mosque. Over the years our administrators had a “better idea”. They poured in millions of taka to almost totally destroy the mosque and replace it with a two-story concrete structure, painted and decorated. Unlike most other mosques in the country, the new mosque is fully air-conditioned. To add salt to the wound, the ‘forward thinking’ rulers of our times left one of the three domes untouched from inside the mosque. If a visitor enquires about the ancient mosque, the person is led inside into the furthest point and asked to look up. All one can see is a rough circular ceiling with yellowish face. The man with the keys of the mosque informed that ‘they’ would soon cover the rough area of the dome with modern tiles. Indeed, it looked ever so painful.
The arches and the corridors of the mausoleum complex of Bibi Marium, which have been meticulously restored.
From Narayanganj, we once again set off on the Circular Waterway, now headed for the river Balu to reach Tongi. We were scheduled to visit the Nagari St Nicolas Church, built by the Portuguese missionaries in 1695 and Tongir Pul, a similar structure like Paglar Pul.
The afternoon sky looked overcast. Occasional drizzles brought in a cool breeze. The ML Water Bus -5 cruised along the tide frequently using its siren to alert the slow moving sand-laden vessels and large trawlers carrying sacrificial animals ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha festival.
The river Balu soon greeted us with more of the sand vessels and thus forcing us to be cautious and slow. The narrow river could hardly take the two-way traffic with large barges returning after having unloaded their cargo of sand. Our first obstacle came at a bridge at Kandipara. The bridge was so low that the mechanic of our vessel had to dismantle the mooring light from its roof for a clearance of less than an inch. Valuable time was lost.
The sun had just set. We could see in the western horizon dimming lights of the capital. The huge marshy land between the Balu and the capital is entirely earmarked by mighty land developers of the country.
A sand laden vessel destined for filling up the marshy lands in order to create more real estate locations.
Not much later, we got the answer for where the sand laden vessels were heading. Our vessel came to a halt amid deafening noise coming from dozens of huge vacuum dredgers unloading sand into the vast low lying areas on the eastern side. A huge signboard announced the making of a city by Bashundhara group, the giant of the real estate developers.
A small distance away a low bailey bridge across the river Balu at Isapur eventually brought our vessel to a standstill. It could never find a clearance. Our day-long exploration came to an end. There cannot be a functional Circular Waterway in Dhaka unless the bridges are rebuilt, ensuring clearance for the fleet of Water Buses, bought at a price of millions of taka by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC).
Our day through the rivers ended with the whole group being forced to take CNG three-wheelers all the way back home.
Photos and Report by Morshed Ali Khan
Short URL: https://reportsbd.com/?p=581
Posted by Reportsbd
on Sep 22 2015. Filed under Home Slide, Special Features.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
