ISLAMABAD: Recent digging activity at World Heritage Site Bhir Mound in Taxila has nothing to do with excavating remains of the roughly 2,000 year old city; instead, locals have starting digging foundations of their houses after claiming the land.
According to the Department of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM) Islamabad, the land adjacent to Taxila Museum, where locals have started ‘illegal’ construction, is protected under the Antiquities Act 1975.
Nonetheless, a senior archaeologist in DOAM elaborated that the department was equally to blame for the loss of heritage.
“We are now confronted with this problem because the department did not acquire portions of land necessary to protect our heritage when the time was right,” he said.
“The remains of the ancient Bhir city are buried under more than 40 kanals of land which is the property of the Department of Archaeology,” he said while informing about the heritage site situated 34 kilometres from Islamabad.
Director General DOAM Fazaldad Kakar said Bhir was one of the first cities in Taxila valley constructed even before Sirkup and Sarsuk.
He added that the foremost authority on Asian civilizations, late Dr Ahmed Hassan Dani, had partially excavated certain ruins that he believed were the area where Raja Ambi, then king of Taxila, had built his palace and welcomed Alexander the Great around 326BC.
However, over the past decade, modern development had caused more damage to the ancient city than invaders of the past.
From Heavy Industries Taxila to shops, plazas and the Haripur Road which snakes through the valley, all have been built upon land where remains of the old city are buried.
Similarly, a cricket stadium was built in 1999 on the Bhir Mound site besides the excavated remains.
“After much effort, the stadium was demolished six months later when Gen (retired) Pervez Musharraf came to power. We had the excavated remains of Bhir fenced to protect the heritage site from further damage,” Mr Fazaldad Kakar said.
“Since 2003, DOAM has lost all legal battles in courts against encroachers and land grabbers including former MNA Sarwar Khan who has constructed his plazas across the road from Bhir Mound site. The plazas are within 200 feet of the protected zone,” said another senior archaeologist in DOAM, adding that the department was either ill prepared or the opponents too influential.
Watching labourers dig foundations of houses, Raja Muhammad Ashfaq, a local, claimed he owned roughly 40 kanals as far as the fence around Bhir Mound.
“If the archeology department wants this land, it should acquire it and pay me for it,” he said, adding that he had acquired a no objection certificate (NOC) from Taxila cantonment permitting him to build houses on the land along the fence.
Regarding this issue, a senior official in Department of Archaeology and Museums said the department had written to Taxila cantonment’s authorities in 2005 requesting them not to authorise constructions or issue NOCs to private developers without first obtaining an no objection certificate from Taxila Museum.
“Last week, senior DOAM officials presented documentary evidence, maps and Kashra numbers drawn by Sir John Marshal, who had excavated the ancient site, to the Executive Officer Cantt. They explained that the said portion of land had been declared protected since 1904, but the officer was not convinced,” he said.
On the other hand, Executive Officer Cantt Taxila Haider Rizvi said he had studied the revenue record and did not find the department to be the rightful owner of the disputed territory.
“This office will be no better than those who have plundered the ancient remains in Taxila if illegal constructions are authorised in the area. If there is any illegal construction on the heritage site, it will be stopped,” said Haider Rizvi.
However, he urged Department of Archaeology and Museums to acquire the land and protect the site for future generations.
