KARACHI: Controversy over the control of Frere Hall, one of the most iconic British-era buildings in Karachi, echoed during the Question Hour session in the Sindh Assembly on Thursday as demand of the provincial culture minister to the city mayor for handing over the building was sharply rejected by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan.

Replying to a question, Culture, Tourism and Antiquities Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah informed the house that Frere Hall was protected under Antiquities Act 1975 and presently it was under the administrative control of the Karachi Metropolitan Cor­poration, the municipal administration of the city headed by Mayor Wasim Akhtar, who belonged to the MQM-P.

He said it was reported in the media that the protected building was being handed over to a private organisation through a memorandum of understanding, but the provincial authorities were not intimated officially. He said that the protected building could not be given for any commercial activities.

He said that despite the MoU, no work was being carried out and in fact the NGO demanded funds from the city government.

“Just after the MoU was signed between the NGO and the local government, I had written a letter to mayor and asked him to give administrative control of the hall to the provincial government but to no avail,” the minister added.

He asked the mayor to hand over the administrative control of Frere Hall to the provincial government as it wanted to establish a library or a museum there.

Mr Shah sought the intervention of the local bodies minister and asked the lawmakers of the MQM-P to ask Mr Akhtar for handing over the hall to the culture, tourism and antiquities department. He further suggested that all members of the assembly could demand it collectively by passing a resolution on the issue.

However, in an apparently sharp reaction to the proposal, MQM-P’s Khawaja Izharul Hasan said that the provincial government had already kept the powers of the mayor.

He said that any heritage sights could be given for healthy activity of public unless it was damaging the site and added that the governor houses had also been opened for the public.

Tourism in Sindh

Replying to a question, the culture minister informed the house that as many as 271,202 domestic and 212 foreign tourists visited different archaeological sites and monuments across the province during the past 10 months.

He further said that figures had been taken from the record of the historical sites and the facilities of provincial tourism department. However, he said that a large number of foreign and domestic tourists visited different places through private facilities.

Responding to another question, the minister said that as many as 129 archaeological sites and historical monuments were transferred from the federal government to the provincial government in 2011 after the 18th Amendment.

He said that a number of developments schemes were prepared by the culture, tourism and antiquities department for restoration of these sites which were in deplorable condition due to lack of maintenance.

The minister said that several archaeological sites and monuments were being preserved under an umbrella scheme namely: “Protection, Preservation of Protected Archaeological Sites and Monuments in Sindh”.

Mr Shah vowed to promote tourism in the province, saying that the provincial government was making efforts to facilitate peoples’ visits to attractive sights of Sindh.

‘Sindh too hot for tourists’

He informed the lawmakers that restrooms were also being established at Manchhar Lake, Nara Canal and other places. He added that the department had established 14 museums across the province.

Grand Democratic Alliance’s Nusrat Sehar Abbasi asked the minister to apprise the members of the reason for “nominal” numbers of tourists. “Is the department not capable enough or is there no will,” she questioned.

The minister said that the hot weather of the province was one of the major reasons for modest number of tourists, saying that climate change affected tourism across the world. “A big number of people come from October to January on their will and we cannot [bind] anyone to visit as per our desire.”

Replying to another question Mr Shah said the responsibility of preserving Sahiban Mahal, the sight resembling Agra’s Taj Mahal situated in Tando Bago in district Badin, lay with the owner as it was a private property. “Sahiban Mahal has not been devastated, however it was not given due care,” informed the minister.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2018