MULTAN, May 3: Work on conservation of mausoleum of Baloch folk hero Mir Chakar Khan Rind will begin in Okara district at a cost of Rs3.366 million on Friday.

According to Punjab Archaeology Department officials, initially Rs1 million has been released for the scheme to restore the tomb’s archaic originality.

An official of the department would reach Okara along with the contractor to build the dome of the shrine anew and apply lime plaster and glazed lime plaster on its interior and exterior.

Damp Proof Course (DPC) and underpinning work by bricks would also be done on the interior of the shrine.

The Punjab government has offered the funding for conservation of the shrine.

According to a book by S A J Shirazi, the Baloch king from 15th century, Chakar Khan, also known as Chakar-i-Azam, lived in Sevi (modern-time Sibbi) in Balochistan and became the head of Rind tribe after the death of his father Mir Shahak Khan. He had founded a kingdom which, however, proved short-lived due to civil war between Lashari and Rind tribes of Balochistan.

He is the centre of Balochi lore and war ballad. Mir Chakar Khan and Mir Gwaharam Khan, the head of Lashari tribe, fought a long war that spanned many years and the ballads that are still the part of Baloch oral literature, commemorate the personal gallantry of the two heroes.

After the war, Mir Chakar Khan Rind settled in Satghara area in Punjab in 1518. Afghan King Sher Shah Soori had sought help from Mir Chakar Khan Rind, but he refused. His forces, under the command of his son Mir Shahdad Khan, joined Humayun when after a long exile in Persia, the Mughal king came back, recaptured Delhi, and ousted Soori dynasty in 1556.

Emperor Humayun, as a reward, conferred a vast land holding upon him and Mir Chakar Khan ruled there till his death in 1565. His followers who had accompanied him to Satghara, Punjab, built the tomb after the death of the hero.—APP