554 heritage sites listed, digital archive planned

The government has published a list of 554 gazetted immovable archaeological sites and is planning to establish a National Digital Cultural Repository to preserve and provide global access to the country’s cultural heritage. Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury disclosed the plans in Parliament on Monday during the question-and-answer session.

Replying to a scripted question from ruling party lawmaker Fahmida Haq (Women Seat-18), the minister said the list of 554 gazetted immovable archaeological sites had already been published on the official website of the Department of Archaeology.

He also said the Department of Archives and Library had taken up a Tk239 crore project to preserve manuscripts, folk heritage and cultural artefacts, digitise them and make the collections accessible to people worldwide.

The project is currently awaiting final approval from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Nitai Roy said.
“If the project is approved, it will be possible to quickly implement a National Digital Cultural Repository to preserve the country’s archaeological resources, manuscripts, folk heritage and cultural artefacts and make them accessible to people around the world,” he said.