KOHAT: Though renovation of the 156-year-old tehsil municipal building has started, many archaeological sites in the Kohat district have long been awaiting preservation.

Talking to Dawn here, civil society activists demanded that the 1901 Khushalgarh railway and road bridge should be declared national heritage and preserved for the adventurists.

They regretted that even after taking over the possession Dhodha Dak Bungalow the archaeology department had not carried its preservation.

Similarly, they maintained that over hundred years old Durrani graveyard was being robbed of costly plaques by the thieves. Despite repeated appeals the archaeology department did not pay any heed to repair the tombs, the court, and the ablution place at the graveyard.

They revealed that a huge stone with some writing on it fixed in a mountain had also been stolen. Bhudha finger rings, coins and daily use items have been stolen, they said, adding the 5,000-year-old place declared as national heritage had not been preserved.

They said the Mir Kheli Rest House, which was used by the British families during summer, was also in extremely bad shape as its windows and doors had been taken away and the building was crumbling. It needed immediate repair work.

They lamented that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government had been promising to convert the picturesque Tanda Dam into a family park for the last seven years but no practical steps had been taken in that regard.

The project has been re-assigned to the tourism department taking it back it from the communications and works department, according to the department’s SDO Zahid Khan.

The civil society activists said by preserving the historic places the district could earn handsome revenue.

Meanwhile, tehsil municipal officer Mohammad Shoaeb told Dawn that he would try his best to preserve the heritage sites lying within his jurisdiction.

He said he had hired best artisans for renovation of the TMA building to keep it intact in its original shape.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2020