HYDERABAD: Special assistant to the Sindh chief minister on culture Sharmila Farooqui has said that 11 historical and heritage sites are being rehabilitated and restored by the Sindh culture department.

She stated this while talking to journalists at Mir Karam Ali Khan Talpur tomb complex in Hirabad on Tuesday. The programme was organised by the Endowment Fund Trust (EFT) and the culture department to hand over possession of the Mir tombs to their custodian, Mir Hyder Ali Talpur.

Mir Rafiq Talpur, son of former Sindh governor Mir Rasool Bux Talpur, Sindh secretary of culture Dr Niaz Hussain Abbasi, former culture secretary Abdul Hameed Akhund, EFT head Ishtiaq Ansari, Mir Hyder Talpur, Ibrahim Shah, Hyderabad district PPP president Zahid Bhurgari and others were present.

Visiting the tombs renovated under the programme, she said the tombs belonged to those generals who ruled Sindh from time to time. She said the tombs construction had no parallel in history. She said it was everyone’s responsibility to work for their conservation.

She said the Sindh government had spent Rs25 million on the restoration and conservation work of the Mir Karam Ali Khan Talpur tomb complex through the EFT. She said work on it started in May 2010 and was finalised in May 2015.

She said PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had instructed the government that every institution should work satisfactorily and any suspected wrongdoing should be investigated.

She said the EFT had signed an agreement with the Sindh culture department for conservation of 11 sites, including Ranikot, Naukot, Kalhoros tombs and Pucca Qilla. She said work on Pucca Qilla would start soon.

She said the EFT was established in 2009, which acquired services of senior experts in the field. She added that the culture department was committed to protecting the culture of Sindh.

She handed over the complex’s keys to Mir Haider Ali Khan Talpur.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2016