THATTA: A large number of stakeholders including historians, archaeologists, conservationists, architects, geo-technologists, and soil engineers from across the country along with a Unesco representative paid a field visit to the world famous Makli necropolis before sharing their experience at Makli Gymkhana on Saturday.

The were of the concerted view that the heritage site was crumbling due to serious neglect. If remedial measures were not taken on an urgent basis, the historical treasure could start vanishing, they warned.

“History will never forgive those who matter if stakeholders and civil society activists working for the conservation of historical sites remained silent spectators,” one of them said.The visit was aimed at assessing the rehabilitation and restoration work being carried out at selected tombs and graves within the necropolis by the Endowment Fund Trust (EFT) for the Preservation of the Heritage of Sindh and culture department.

The visiting team expressed its grave concern over the damage caused to the 15th century tomb of Mir Sultan Ibrahim allegedly by unskilled labourers and unqualified professionals. The rehabilitation work had been carried out recently under the supervision of the Heritage Foundation for which financial assistance was provided under the US Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation.

Speaking at the gathering, EFT chief Hameed Akhund, geo-technical engineer Suhail Kibriya, archaeologist Yasmeen Cheema, Marvi Mustafa, Badar Abro, Qazi Ayaz Mahisar and others stressed the need for extra care on the part of those handling such jobs. They said such things must be avoided at any cost.

They also observed that the tomb of Jam Nizamuddin, canopy of the Jam Tamachi tomb and the Shaikh Hamad Jamali mosque within the necropolis were tilting while cracks and dilapidation were noticed in the structures. Seepage was also causing damage to the monuments, they noted.

Jamshed Danish, Ali Qazi Mansoor, Marvi Mazhar and Prof Ghulam Mohiuddin Veesar said that works must be carried out immediately to strengthen the structures and avoid further damage to the sites. They said qualified professionals and highly skilled labourers should be employed to carry out the repair, rehabilitation and conservation works.

The experts also conducted an on-the-spot study of various monuments to ascertain causes of the damage and discussed various options to protect them from crumbling.

They, however, recommended a minimum possible intervention in the rehabilitation works to maintain the originality of the sites.

Officials of the cultural department, EFT and other relevant institutions told the experts that joint efforts would be made with the assistance of Unesco to carry out all required works and ensure that no avoidable damage was caused to the sites. The works would be carried out under the supervision of exports of their field.

The team called for completing the unfinished the boundary wall of the necropolis and a strict vigilance to prevent theft and encroachment. It suggested that the Makli Historical Society be reactivated and assigned to arrange regular visits to all monuments. Besides, they said, awareness of the world heritage site and its importance should be raised among the local population.

Former director general of culture department and historian Dr Mohammed Ali Manjhi, Engineer Obhayo Khan Khushk and some other experts said that several thousand graves and tombs of Asia’s largest historical necropolis spread over nine square kilometres had already vanished but more than 7,000 tombs and monuments as well as thousands of graves still existed.

It was observed that a lack of security and required facilities at the historical sites had resulted in a considerable decline in the number of visitors, mainly foreign tourists, over the last five years.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2016