LAHORE, Aug 24: UNESCO Islamabad director Jorge Sequeira has said Pakistan inherits rich and diverse cultural heritage but it has not been preserved and cherished the way it should have been.

He was speaking at the launch ceremony of $2.5 million Getty Foundation project at the Lahore Fort on Friday. The funds will be utilised through the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) to preserve gateways and Shahi Hamam or royal bathrooms at the Shalamar Gardens.

He said although there had been efforts in different parts of the country to preserve both the tangible culture and the intangible culture but such efforts could not yield sustainable results, as there needed to be a strategy, emphasising a holistic approach, which did not separate the tangible culture from the intangible culture.

He said that after consultations with the Punjab government and experts who had been involved in the planning of the project, Unesco submitted a plan to the Getty Foundation to secure the grant for the preservation of eastern and western gateways and the Shahi Hamam at the Shalamar Gardens.

He said that he hoped the project would complete in 18 to 20 months. He said Unesco had consulted the Punjab government to ensure that the efforts did not overlap.

Information, culture and youth affairs secretary Ashfaq Gondal thanked the

Getty Foundation for providing the grant. He assured the foundation and Unesco of executing the project effectively. The Punjab Archaeology Department would supervise the project according to the requirements of the donors, the secretary added.

He said the heritage was an exception and the province was exceptionally rich in heritage, both natural as well as cultural.

The mosaic work of eastern and western gates of Shalamar Garden is crumbling. At the hamam, lime plaster, fresco paintings and floral, terracotta screens have been damaged. The fresco paintings in the hamam are unique. The paintings have floral and geometrical patterns and are made of mineral clay and vegetable colours.