MIRPURKHAS, Feb 17: Sindh Minister for Culture and Tourism Rauf Ahmed Siddiqui said on Saturday that he was ‘astonished’ to see a circuit house built inside the Umerkot fort in complete disregard for the beauty and originality of the great historical monument.

The minister said that signs of decay were more prominent in Umerkot fort than they were in Ranikot and some other historical sites of the province.

He expressed annoyance over the use of cement and gravel in the renovation work at Ranikot and said that the government would not let such non-professional people go ahead with their flawed plan to destroy the original grandeur of the site.

Mr Siddiqui said while presiding over a Sindhi-Urdu Mushaira in Umerkot fort organised to pay homage to great poet late Mohsin Bhopali that the wrong approaches and policies had done great harm to the rich cultural heritage of Sindh.

He said that the government was making efforts to promote healthy academic activities in the province. The tourism sector in the province had great potential to earn money by luring tourists from across the country and abroad, he added.

Earlier, Prof Qalandar Lakiari, Nazar Amrohi, Saleem Kausar, Gulnar Afreen, Taj Joyo, Mujahid Chandio, Juman Darbadar, Imtiaz Sagar, Asad Jamal Palli and Zubair Soomro enthralled the audience by their poetry.

Power breakdown during the proceedings affected the function. Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim would be the chief guest on the concluding day of Thar Festival on Sunday (today) at the prize distribution ceremony, it was learnt.

District Nazim Faqir Maghan Mangrio, DCO Riaz Ahmed Soomro, taluka and union council nazims and a large number of notables, common people and government officials attended the event.