Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered the evacuation of a 150-year-old heritage building in Chittagong which was once the law chamber of freedom fighter Jatindra Mohan Sengupta and his father advocate Jatra Mohon Sengupta, to be converted into a museum.

Following the Prime Minister’s demand, Chittagong district authorities have evacuated the building and installed a signboard with an order issued on 6 January by the Supreme Court of Bangladesh that the site is to be conserved for a museum, Advocate Rana Dasgupta told IANS.

Welcoming the move, Dasgupta said it was a victory of the movement of the people of Chittagong. “We are happy that the Prime Minister herself handled this issue with a plan to secure the heritage as a museum. We hope the local administration will accelerate implementing the order,” he added. Since January 5, several sit-in programmes have been held in front of the heritage structure urging the government to take steps. But over the last two weeks, miscreants have stayed at the building and burned the doors, local residents told IANS.