Part of poet Rafiq Azad's memorial house demolished

A part of the late poet Rafiq Azad's house in Dhanmondi has been demolished. Rafiq Azad lived in the house with his family for about 29 years. The poet wrote more than 20 books of poetry in this house. The housing authority began the demolition of the house on Wednesday morning.

The poet's wife Dilara Hafiz lives in one of the four-unit houses. The remaining three units are allotted to others. Two units in the eastern part of the house were demolished on Wednesday.

The house at 139/4A on Road No. 1 in Dhanmondi (west side) has an area of ​​about 5 kathas.

In 1988, the 'Estate Office' temporarily allotted this one-story house in the name of Rafiq Azad's wife, poet Dilara Hafiz. Dilara Hafiz was working as a lecturer at Eden College at the time.

The allocation copy shows that the allocation letter signed by M Begum, Assistant Director of the Housing Authority, states that this allocation will not confer any rights on the house, but she can live there until further orders.

After a long time, a person named Syed Nehal Ahad claimed the house as his. In 2012, he got a court verdict in favor of his ownership. Dilara Hafiz filed a case against Syed Nehal, the Housing and Public Works Ministry, and the Housing and Public Works Ministry as defendants. As a result, the court granted status quo on the house. The court made this status quo permanent the following year.

Later, the case was transferred to the Seventh Assistant Judge's Court of Dhaka. Testimony in the case is scheduled to be taken on May 25. Referring to these information, Dilara Hafiz wrote separate letters to Adilur Rahman Khan, Advisor to the Housing and Public Works Ministry, the Secretary of the same ministry, and the Secretary of the Ministry of Culture on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a drive to evict the house was launched on Wednesday morning.

Dilara Hafiz was allotted the house as a lecturer in the education cadre. She retired from her job as the chairman of the Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board after serving as the principal of the government Titumir College for 4 years. Her husband Rafiq Azad has been awarded many awards including the Ekushey Padak and Bangla Academy. He was a brave freedom fighter. Currently, their two children - Abhinna Azad and Abbayo Azad are living abroad.

In this regard, Dilara Hafiz said that Rafiq Azad is a prominent poet and brave freedom fighter in national life. She also visited the Public Works Ministry yesterday to get an order for permanent settlement of a part of the house to preserve and preserve his memory. She did not expect to launch an eviction drive while the case was ongoing.