Bangladesh Govt. plans to preserve Jyoti Basu's ancestoral house

From Ataur Rahman


Dhaka, July 15, 2009 : A museum and a library are among others which are likely to be built at the ancestral home of veteran communist leader and former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, a ruling party lawmaker told this correspondent during noon today.

Ex State Minister for Culture Mr. Obaidul Quader MP when contacted said he has visited Barodi , the ancestral home of Mr. Basu which is about 20 Km from here on the instruction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina . Before flying to Egypt to attend NAM summit which began today Hasina had asked Quader to visit Jyoti Basu's house as her government plans to preserve it ( house ) having memories of the veteran leader.

Mr. Quader said he has asked the concerned people to prepare a proper plan - making a monumental site of the place which will incorporate a museum , a library and other necessary spots so that people from far and near can visit . When asked how long it will take to start the task , Quader said we hope the work will begin very soon once the plan which will be sent to the PM gets her approval.

PM Hasina had asked Quader to survey the house of the veteran leader to see whether it could be turned into a library, The Daily Star said in a report published today. The paper also reported that Mitali, an Indo- Bangladesh cultural society on Monday called on the government to presertve the house of Basu. The organization also demanded that the road from Bishwa Road to his Barodi hose be named after him ( Jyoti Basu ).

Jyoti Basu knew and had good relations with Bangladesh's founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( Hasina's father ) and Hasina has great respects for Mr. Jyoti Basu . Whenever she visited Kolkata, she had called on the veteran leader. Basu as chief minister of West Bengal played a role ( in convincing BJP central govt in New Delhi) in reaching an agreement on sharing waters of river Ganges in 1996 after Hasina came to power.

Quader said the road to Mr. Basu's house at Barodi is now in bad shape .The road will be repaired as part of the preservation plan. He also informed they also talked with the secretary of ailing Basu today and sought their consent which he( Basu) gracefully gave.

Besides DC[ Deputy Commissioner] of Narayanganj district under whose jurisdiction Barodi falls, other officials and a large number of people were present when Mr. Quader visited the spot.

Mr. Basu during his last visit to Bangladesh in 1999 had visited his ancestral house and is known to regularly enquire about the present condition of the house.