LARKANA: The long-awaited dry-core drilling that began at the ancient ruins of Moenjodaro four days ago has run into snags again, not because of red-tape this time but because the equipment used in the process was not strong enough to pierce through hard layers deep down to 20 feet, according to officials.

Zaheeruddin Shar, curator of the archaeological site, told Dawn on Monday that drilling kicked off at DK-B area in the first phase but it had to be halted soon afterwards when the bits brought by the contractor did not work as per requirement.

The dry-core drilling, which was mandatory for determining demarcation of actual area of Moenjodaro in line with Unesco’s demand it had been raising since 2006, was finally inaugurated by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on April 5, 2014. But since then the project, which is worth Rs8.7 million, has failed to take off for a variety of reasons.

Qasim Ali Qasim, director general of archaeology and museums, said that the team of experts was not satisfied with the equipment the contractor was using as its quality was not up to the mark and it was not strong enough to bore through hard layers.

Therefore, he said, the contractor had briefly stopped the work and it would hopefully resume it within a week.

Once started, the process would complete within two months, he said.

So far, 40 points have been identified for boring which are located at 100 metres from each other and having a depth of 15 to 20 metres. The drilling would be carried out in crisscross fashion, he said.

Mr Qasim said that when Unesco had listed Moenjodaro in the World Heritage List in 1981, it did not ask for carrying out drilling. The world body had been raising the demand for carrying out the process since 2006, he said.

It would be a three-pronged exercise — archaeological, geological and botanical studies, said Ali Haidar Gadhi, associated with the conservation of the ancient city.

A team of experts led by Prof Dr Sarfraz Solangi, pro-vice chancellor of the Thatta campus of Sindh University; Dr Asghar Hakro and Mashooque Mangi would supervise the project and undertake geological studies, said sources.

Mr Qasim said that studies of fauna and flora would also be done and assistance might be sought from foreign experts to have comprehensive studies during the drilling.

Dr Sarfraz Solangi, a geologist who supervised the project, said that the contractor had been asked to have especially designed bits and core barrel with transparent PVC pipes. As it was a highly technical job it required specially designed equipment, he said.

He said that the process would focus on identifying natural and cultural layers of the site.

The analytical study would be carried out at the laboratory of the Centre for Pure and Applied Geology, University of Sindh, said the sources.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2015

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