Mir Mosharraf Hossain Memorial Library and Auditorium at Lahinipara village in Kumarkhali upazila of Kushtia has been unattended for long. Due to improper maintenance, the memorabilia of litterateur Mir Mosharraf Hossain are being ruined.
After the death of Mir Mosharraf Hossain, in 2008 the Mir Mosharraf Hossain Memorial Library and Auditorium was built at his house in Lahinipara village. In this auditorium, there are about 122 accessories used by Mir Mosharraf Hossain in his lifetime. The memorial remains closed Sunday to 1pm Monday every week. Visitors to this memorial library and auditorium have a chance to visit it for 6 days a week for free.
Everyday around 3,500 visitors come to visit the memorial on average. Nevertheless, the library and the auditorium are not getting proper care and maintenance. As a result, many belongings of the writer are getting ruined.
Mir Mosharraf Hossain Memorial Library and Auditorium Caretaker Mir Mahbub Ul Arif said, the library was originally built as an auditorium. This should have been built as a museum so that the furniture, and other stuff used by Mir Mosharraf Hossain could be protected. These belongings are about 150-years-old.
The caretaker also said, the memorial library is now under the control of the Kushtia District Council. But it would be better if the library and auditorium is put under the Department of Archaeology so that the maintenance would be far more proactive.
Nahid Hassan, a visitor to Mir Mosharraf Hossain Memorial Library, said, "It feels good to visit the library but the problem is there is no restroom for the visitors, and no sanitation system has been seen.”
Another visitor named Enamul Haque said, the walkways to visit Mir Mosharraf Hossain Memorial Library should be repaired.
Kumarkhali Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), Rajibul Islam Khan said to Dhaka Tribune, "We have contacted to handover the maintenance of Mir Mosharraf Hossain Memorial Library and Auditorium to the Department of Archaeology, but no response was received."
Khulna Department of Archaeology Divisional Director Afroza Khan Mita said to Dhaka Tribune: “If any application is sent to the Director General, Department of Archaeology regarding Mir Mosharraf Hossain Memorial Library and Auditorium’s maintenance, then we will visit the memorial and take necessary steps.”
Mir Mosharraf Hossain, a pioneer Bengali Muslim writer, was a Bengali novelist, playwright, and essayist. Bishad Sindhu, written over the incident of Karbala war, is his most popular literary work.
Mir Mosharraf Hossain was born in Lahinipara village of Kumarkhali upazila in Kushtia on November 13, 1847 and he died on December 19, 1911.
