Historic Darul Adalat on verge of collapse

Perched atop a hill at Government Hazi Muhammad Mohsin College, the historic “Darul Adalat” -- Chattogram’s first court building -- has remained abandoned for 24 years, with conservation efforts stalled amid bureaucratic inertia.

The colonial-era structure is now on the verge of collapse.

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Despite The Daily Star publishing a number of reports since 2013 on the need to preserve the building, conservation efforts have remained stuck in a bureaucratic tangle involving multiple government agencies.

The college authorities declared the two-storey building risky in 2002 and suspended all activities there. Once home to the college library and the office of the Bangladesh National Cadet Corps, it has since remained abandoned.

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Built on a 0.775-acre site with three-foot-wide walls of brick, lime and mortar, Darul Adalat features a fusion of Mughal and Western architectural styles. It has 16 rooms and two towers on the northeast and northwest corners, accessible by spiralling staircases.

During a recent visit, the building’s entrance was found sealed off, while wild vegetation covered parts of its facade, where plaster had decayed and domes were crumbling.

“It is a site of immense historical importance. Visitors often come to see it but have to return disappointed as it is sealed off. Its sorry state is heartbreaking,” said Ali Akbar, a student of the college.

Local folklore suggests the structure was built by Portuguese pirates and had a secret tunnel connecting it to the Karnaphuli river. Historians, however, dismissed the claims.

In his book “Bandar Shahar Chattogram (Port City of Chattogram)”, historian Abdul Haque Chowdhury wrote that British authorities constructed the building to establish their court shortly after taking over Chattogram in 1761. “The two domes on the building’s towers were used by British watchmen to watch movement of ships in Karnaphuli river and in the sea,” he wrote.

The building served as a court until the British rulers shifted it to Lalkuthi (Red Building) beside Laldighi in Chattogram around 1857, he added.

Officials from the Department of Archaeology (DoA) first visited the building in 2013 to recommend that it be declared a protected heritage site. Its official status, however, remains unchanged, with the conservation process dragging on for more than a decade now.

Prof Benu Ara Begum, principal of the college, said, “DoA officials have visited several times, but I don’t know why its conservation remains elusive.”

Dr Md Ataur Rahman, a former regional director of the DoA who visited the site in 2019, said, “Conservation of the site is vital because it was the first colonial-era court in Chattogram. I submitted my recommendation years ago; I do not know its fate after my transfer.”

Contacted, Dr Nahid Sultana, DoA regional director for Chattogram and Sylhet, said she had forwarded a report to the department’s director general. “As far as I know, the DG sent a letter to the Chattogram District Administration requesting the land schedule. Once received, a formal recommendation will be sent to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs,” she said.

However, Chattogram Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate Zahidul Islam Miah said they had not received any such letter.

“I will look into the matter,” he said.