Chittagong will get a new Shaheed Minar on Victory Day

Chittagong Cultural Complex will open a new door in the cultural arena of Chittagong. For the development of Chittagong’s cultural arena, the government took up the ‘Chittagong Muslim Institute Cultural Complex’ project. Under this project, the construction work of Chittagong Central Shaheed Minar has already been completed. Shaheed Minar will be opened for all from December 16. However, the work of the cultural complex will be completed in June next year, according to the project officials.

Rahul Guha, Executive Engineer of Directorate of Public Works-1, Chittagong, said that the part of Chittagong Central Shaheed Mina built under the project will be opened for all on December 16. The entire project will be completed in June 2024. In the meantime, library activities have already started on three floors of the cultural complex. There is some work left on the auditorium, which will also be completed soon. Some goods have to be brought from abroad, now it takes some time because LC is closed. But we hope that it will be possible to open the ‘Chittagong Muslim Institute Cultural Complex’ to all in June next year.

It is known that Chittagong residents were able to pay their respects at Shaheed Minar last on December 16, 2021. Then from December 27, demolition and renovation of Shaheed Minar started. At this time, the national days were celebrated in the Shaheed Minar built in the Municipal Model School and College managed by the Chittagong City Corporation. Due to the absence of Chittagong memorial, National Day programs including February 1, December 16 and March 26 were held at Chittagong Central Shaheed Minar. The Shaheed Minar was built on February 20, 1962 at Kesid Road in the city. Altar height of the newly constructed Shaheed Minar has been increased by 11 feet. An open stage is being constructed next to it. Along with cultural events, meetings, seminars will also be organized here.

According to project sources, the government has taken this project for the construction of Chittagong Muslim Institute, Departmental Public Library and Central Shaheed Minar for the development of Chittagong’s cultural arena. 2015 Infrastructural Development and Renovation Design Work Begins. The design was finalized in August 2016 after over a year of work. The project was approved in November 2017. After that, at the beginning of 2018, the work of this project under the implementation of the Directorate of Public Libraries started. The Public Works Department is implementing the project at a cost of Tk 281 crore.

Under the project, a Chittagong Divisional Public Library with 15 floors, a multipurpose hall and seminar hall and a public gathering space of 7413.60 square feet area are being constructed. The work of Chittagong Central Shaheed Minar has already been completed. Tunnels have been constructed on both sides of the main road. There will be service section on the ground floor of the library building, where book sorting, fumigation will be done. The ground and first floor will have offices, the 2nd floor will have seminar and meeting rooms and the third floor will be exclusively for the disabled. General Library on 4th and 5th Floor, Children’s Library on 6th Floor, Paper Library on 7th Floor, Reference Library on 8th Floor, Science Library on 9th and 10th Floor, Training Unit on 11th Floor, ICT Unit on 12th Floor, Space for Future Provision on 13th Floor, Guest House on 14th Floor . In the library section, 250 people in the general library, 150 people in the science library, 100 people in the reference library, 100 people in the newspaper/periodical library, 50 people in the handicapped library, 150 people in the open library, 100 people in the children’s library can read books together.

In addition, there are meeting rooms and seminar rooms for 40-50 people, large seminar rooms with 150 seats. ICT library will have 30 computers. There will also be a rest house, 2 VIP rooms and common dormitory rooms. The multipurpose halls of Chittagong Muslim Institute are being constructed next to it. Seminar and experimental theater hall on the first and second floor, cafeteria and projection hall on the third floor, auditorium on the fourth and fifth floor. A sculpture will be constructed next to the library in association with the Muslim Institute of Chittagong. Muslim institute part will have 750 seat auditorium, 300 to 350 seat mini auditorium. There will be two seminar rooms with 200 and 100 seats, 1 art gallery and souvenir shop.

BD-Daily/Salah Uddin