CHINIOT: The 200-year-old Mauza Suleman temple is in a state of disrepair.

Standing tall at the ancient village at Bhowana tehsil about 50 kilometres away from Chiniot, the historical structure is facing destruction due to a lack of maintenance and callousness of the mafia who have dug its foundations in search of ‘treasure’.

According to village elders, the temple is 200 years old and once used to be bustling with Hindus who lived at Bhowana tehsil. During the pre-partition era, there was an almost equal number of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim populations in rural and urban areas. Later, most minorities migrated to India leaving the worship places at the mercy of locals.

A number of worship places of minorities have disappeared with time and few temples still exist in the district.

Mauza Suleman Mandir is 50 feet high and contains figures which the Hindus consider sacred. Most of the artwork has been damaged owing to a lack of maintenance. Those living around the temple have made concrete installations around it.

The bricks laid in the foundations and ground floor have fallen off which has made its structure dangerous.

The area around it also remains under water after rains which is weakening the foundations.

There is no office of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) in Chiniot to deal with such buildings.

Mr Haroon, president of Shaheen Welfare Society, demanded that Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Chief Justice of Pakistan direct the authorities to take control of this national heritage and preserve it.

He also offered the government to hand over the temple to the NGO which would maintain it.

Bhowana’s Deputy District Education Officer Mukhtar Ahmad said the education department was ready to take care of the temple if the government hands it over to the department.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2021