In Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, at the Vijay Sarani site where the ‘Mrityunjoy’ sculpture of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was demolished, a new “Monument and Open Space in Memory of the July Martyrs” will be constructed. The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) will build the monument. Planning and design work is underway. As part of this process, the corporation demolished the remaining seven walls of the Mrityunjoy sculpture on Friday.Sources said that in a DNCC board meeting, a decision was made to construct the monument and open space in memory of the July martyrs. Accordingly, the engineering department is preparing the plans and designs. The monument will be built through an open tender process.DNCC Administrator Ejaz Mohammad said, “The plan is to create the monument considering the July Movement and the spirit of independence.”On August 5, after news spread that the deposed Sheikh Hasina had left the country, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets. During this time, students and citizens destroyed the Mrityunjoy sculpture at Vijay Sarani. The sculpture had been inaugurated on November 10, 2023. Sheikh Hasina, the former prime minister accused of crimes against humanity in connection with mass killings during July and August, had inaugurated it. The visually striking plaza featured the sculpture, with murals on its walls. The seven walls of the plaza depicted various movements, including the Language Movement, other political struggles, the Liberation War, and different aspects of Bangabandhu’s leadership and contributions to Bangladesh’s independence struggle.
