LARKANA, Dec 22: Sindh minister for Culture and Tourism Sassui Palijo has said that bureaucratic bottlenecks are main obstacle in handing over the possession of the archaeological sites to Sindh.

She was talking to Dawn after inaugurating an exhibition of paintings and photographs of Ms Benazir Bhutto at the open air theatre here on Monday.

She said that President Asif Zardari had asked for handing over the archaeological sites to the Sindh culture and tourism department and the department of archaeology in principle had agreed to do it.

Sindh had submitted its recommendations to the federal government and the provincial chief secretary had held two meetings with the departments concerned, she said.

Answering a question, she said that in the first week of January a meeting would be held to finalise the proposal.

Answering yet another question, she said that pre-historic relics of Moenjodaro and other important sites were ruining and she was informed about poor performance of the officers of the archaeology department. She said it was quite discouraging the recent rains had damaged the remains of Moenjodaro.

Earlier, speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Ms Sassui said that the purpose of holding such exhibitions was to hunt the hidden talent in the province and highlighting different aspects of the life of Ms Benazir Bhutto and her achievements.

It was encouraging that a good number of professional artists and students were profusely participating in the exhibitions and hidden talent was coming on the surface, she added.

Paying tribute to Ms Benazir Bhutto, she said that she possessed unmatched quality of wisdom and bravery and faced the dictators with courage, commitment and conviction and finally sacrificed her life for the restoration of democracy in the country.

Being the daughter of great leader Z.A. Bhutto, she preferred to remain in solitary confinement rather than compromising over principles, the minister added. She fought fearlessly for the rights of the downtrodden, and distressed people, Ms Sassui said.

She said that late Z.A.Bhutto gave courage to the people to speak while Ms Benazir Bhutto lived and died for the people and their rights.

Speaking on the occasion, Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar Khuhro said that following the principles of Ms Benazir Bhutto and party programme was the best way to serve the masses.

Earlier Ms Sassui along with the speaker and MPA Munawar Abbasi visited the exhibition and appreciated the efforts of artists. The paintings of Nazeer Samo, Ahsan and Shafqat Wadho were declared as first, second and third. People from different walks of life visited the exhibition and evinced interest in the contributions.