BAHAWALPUR, May 28: Desert Rangers have taken over the historic Moj Garh Fort in the Cholistan desert for preservation and rehabilitation.

The century-old fort collapsed long time ago and now there stood its crumbled structure only. The Rangers have been frequently visiting the fort, which is located near the Indo-Pak border in Cholistan. The Rangers have decided to rehabilitate the fort on their own.

The fort is located about 70 kilometres from the city on Yazman-Fort Abbas road at a place called Thandi Khoi. It was built by Emperor Maroof Khan Kehrani in 1743 A.D. Rangers have started work on fort’s crumbled façade in the first phase.

Desert Rangers Sector Commander Saleem Qadir says fort’s preservation requires millions of rupees. He said the idea behind the initiative was restoration of fort’s structure and preservation of local heritage.

He said Rangers were planting hundreds of thousands of trees in the desert, converting vast tracts of desert land into cultivable land, providing drinking water and health care to both human beings and animals and running a public school at Mithra, at the entrance of Cholistan desert.