Releasing the barricades: reintegrating central jail through ‘placemaking’ in old Dhaka

Abstract

Jail is an essential organization to establish law and order in day to day functioning of a state. Tracing jail making and its evolving timeline reflects a society’s social and political history. ‘Dacca Jail’ has been no exception since its inception in the early 19th century and later updated to central jail in 1879 (Muntasir Mamun,2000,90). Central jail located at the north of Chawk bazaar in Old Dhaka carries the glorious testimony of Colonialism, dating back to Mughal era as an al-leged site for fort and mint(takshal). It has been existing as a barricade in the central heart of old Dhaka detaching it from its surroundings by high perimeter walls but spatially being as integral part of morphology and infrastructure of old Dhaka. The recent government decision of relocating the overcrowded central jail has paved the way towards reintegrating the vacated area within its immediate surroundings with the far-fetched, multi-faceted implications for the greater Old Dhaka. The first urban sprawl along the river Buriganga hosts the old quarters of Dhaka city rich in history and heritage which sadly now have the highest residential density in the country. This old part of the city lacks breathing places like open spaces and parks which estimates only 17 acres for over 10 lacs of people. This dire need of locality can be addressed by sensitize reintegration of the vacated site within the framework of heritage management and involving the outdoor public realm in the way of ‘place making’ whose inspiration referents coming from the living and localities of Old Dhaka. This paper focuses on the sequential process of place making on the basis of urban morphology analysis of Old Dhaka and Central jail for the betterment of the locality and the city.