Tk70 lakh Satyajit’s guest house unused for 14 yrs
A guesthouse built at a cost of around Tk70 lakh to accommodate tourists visiting the ancestral home of Oscar-winning filmmaker Satyajit Ray in Kishoreganj has reportedly remained unused for 14 years, with no tourist recorded as having stayed there overnight.
Located beside Ray’s ancestral home in Masuya village of Katiadi upazila, the two-storey guesthouse was built by Bangladesh Tourism Corporation in 2011 to provide accommodation for visitors to the historic site.
The project, which also included a boundary wall and road development, was estimated to cost Tk70 lakh. Of the amount, Tk52 lakh was allocated for construction of the guesthouse and purchase of furniture.
The guesthouse was inaugurated in mid-2012. However, it has remained largely unused because no caretaker post was created to operate the facility.
The guesthouse is currently under the upazila administration. Sanjit Chandra Das, a sweeper at the Masuya Union Land Office whose house is next to the facility, has been given additional responsibility for looking after it. He keeps the key but receives no separate payment for the duty.
Guest register remains blank
During a visit on August 13, the main gate of the guesthouse was found locked. Sanjit opened it after being contacted.
The building had recently been painted and contained beds, sofas, three toilets, dining tables, a dressing table, cupboards and other furniture. It also had an IPS backup system and an internet connection.
However, the guest register contained no record of any tourist staying there. There were no entries at all.
Sanjit said no tourist visiting Satyajit Ray’s ancestral home had stayed at the guesthouse. He said officials from the Upazila Nirbahi Officer’s office had stayed there once or twice.
He said the lack of proper facilities may be one reason tourists have shown little interest in staying there, adding that he did not know the official accommodation rates.
Maintenance problems
Locals said the guesthouse remained locked for long periods after its inauguration. Due to a lack of regular maintenance, window grilles and electrical wires were stolen, furniture was damaged, and the water supply system broke down. The toilets also became unusable at one point.
Locals further alleged that drug users used to gather behind the building.
Masuya Union Parishad Chairman Abu Bakker Siddique questioned why the government had not created manpower for operating a guesthouse built specifically to accommodate tourists.
No caretaker post created
Kishoreganj district administration sources said several letters had been sent to the Tourism Corporation seeking the creation of posts to manage the guesthouse. Some replies were received, but no effective steps have been taken so far.
Katiadi Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shamima Afroz told The New Nation that the guesthouse has remained unused because tourists have not been coming to stay there.
Satyajit Ray’s ancestral home, located in Masuya village, is under the Department of Archaeology. Visitors from different parts of the country regularly come to see the historic residence.
Ray was one of the most influential filmmakers of Indian cinema and won an Academy Award for lifetime achievement.
His father, Sukumar Ray, was a renowned Bengali writer and illustrator, while his grandfather, Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, was a writer, illustrator and pioneer of modern printing in Bengal.
