MUZAFFARGARH: Muzaffargarh has had a unique honour recently when it was declared a role model for other districts of Punjab to follow.

Building upon the work of former deputy commissioner of Muzaffargarh, Dr Ehtasham Anwar, who compiled the gazetteer of the district after many decades, the Punjab government has launched an ambitious project of digitising old gazetteers of all districts of Punjab and compiling their latest editions in hard as well as soft forms. This would help preserve the valuable history of the province in the most authentic form for posterity.

A formal letter has been written to all deputy commissioners by Babar Hayat Tarar, Senior Member Board of Revenue, to complete the task latest by Dec 31, 2020. It has been said that a gazetteer is considered the most important and authentic document in respect of any given district as it provides information pertaining to history, people, places, customs and practices prevalent there.

It may be noted that revival of this much cherished yet forgotten tradition has now been accompanied by setting up of a new tradition at the same time. Going with the dynamics of the age of Information Technology, eGazetteer of Muzaffargarh, which is an online version, has also been launched in association with the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) and is available at https://gazetteers.punjab.gov.pk/muzaffargarh. It would offer information in readily accessible and searchable form thus meeting the tastes and needs of the newer generations.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2020