QUETTA: People from different walks of life marched from the Hanna Lake to the city centre covering a distance of 15 kilometres in an effort to draw attention of the government and civil society organisations towards the preservation of Neolithic period civilisation of Mehrgarh on Sunday.

Led by Sardar Bahadur Khan University Vice Chancellor Rukhsana Jabeen, Balochistan Uni­versity VC Dr Javed Iqbal and other prominent individuals, the walk that began from the Urak Valley was later joined by Balochistan Governor Amanullah Yasin­zai before its culmination.

At the end of the walk, the participants were informed that no government efforts had been made to introduce the 7000BC civilisation at the national and international level. It was demanded that measures be taken not only to protect the Mehrgarh sites but also facilitate visit of history students and tourists to the place.

The participants were informed that the walk was aimed at drawing attention of the government and international organisations working for the protection of old civilisations.

Chief executive of Taraqee Foundation, which had organised the event, Amjad Rasheed, founding member of the foundation Abid Razvi, Dr Shershah, Dr Allah Dad Luni, Dr Lal Muhammad Kakar and Shahzada Zulfiqar also participated in the walk.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2018