MULTAN, Feb 12: The skeleton of a historical vessel (steamwheeler) gifted to Saraiki sufi poet Khwaja Ghulam Farid by the ruler of princely Bahawalpur State has been lying in the open at Nishtar Ghat on the Indus for years.

Devotees of the saint demand that the vessel, which they call Indus Queen, be renovated and shifted to the Khwaja Farid Museum in Kot Mithan.

A few months ago, some experts, commissioned by Honorary Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Chaudhry Munir examined the vessel and left it without any action.

The boat remained under the use of Nawab Subah Sadiq, the fourth, the ruler of Bahawalpur State. He gifted it to the saint as a token of his appreciation and reverence for the saint poet. The dwellers of Kot Mithan, Rajanpur, Chachran Sharif and Rahim Yar Khan used the boat for decades to cross the Indus River, which had 10-kilometre long channel in those days.

Khwaja Farid Museum Director Mujahid Jatoi said the three-storey boat was grounded in 1991 because of its rundown condition. The boat had a restaurant, a hall with seats for 500 people and a portion for goods and cattle. He said thieves stole the engine, furniture and costly decoration parts of the boat.

A fire erupted in the vessel in the 80s which damaged its parts and beauty and in 1991 it was grounded. He said that in 2000, the government put the vessel on auction with the minimum price of Rs700,000. Though the boat attracted a whooping Rs1.2 million bid by a Faisalabad party, the government had to cancel the process after a fierce protest by the devotees.

He demanded that the government renovate the historical asset and use it for ferrying the people about and shift to the museum.

Intellectual and Saraiki poet Ashiq Buzdar says the Bahawalpur ruler had built two waiting rooms on either side of the river for the people travelling on the boat. He said the passengers were also provided meal in these rooms.