IMPORTANCE OF CONSERVING MUGHAL RIVER FORTS AT NARAYANGANJ, BANGLADESH: A UNESCO CRITERIA BASED PUBLIC OPINION ANALYSIS

Preservation of historically important buildings is a growing practice throughout the global North. In Bangladesh, however, public knowledge and support for the preservation of historic places are still lacking. There seems to be an obvious deviation from the UNESCO standard in that, as the majority of conceptual adaptations of heritage protection laws appear to overlook context, values, and history. Law enforcement and structural significance are given greater weight in Bangladesh than intangible aspects like historical impact or regional identity. Its traditional and extinct character, its creative genius and technological triumphs from the past, and, altogether, its remarkable value are all neglected. This leading to a lack of public awareness and inadequate reach for law enforcement. To showcase the Mughal river forts, this article provides two case studies: Sonakanda fort and Hajiganj fort. The first section of the paper discusses the context of the area, local urban identity, and historic relevance in order to define the scope of the study. After then, a comparison was made for heritage protection, between Bangladesh's current legal framework and the global standard. Finally, in order to address and reconcile these gaps in reality, public opinion was sought. Eventually, a few suggestions and recommendations were discovered for upgrading of those antiquated historical regulations, landscape development, environmental policies and safeguarding such urban heritage structures, the majority of which are in jeopardy because of the rapid urbanisation tendency and public awareness. Keywords: Mughal forts, heritage preservation, local identity, urban context, public awareness.