Rs100m for Mohenjodaro master plan

KARACHI, Feb 20: The Sindh government has sanctioned Rs100 million for the preparation of a master plan for rehabilitation and cultural tourism of Mohenjodaro, culture secretary Aziz Uqaili has said.

In a statement issued here on Monday, the culture secretary said that the archaeological site of Mohenjodaro was devolved to Sindh in April 2011 from the federal government after which the provincial government had set up an executive board under the chairmanship of the culture minister and a technical consultative committee headed by Dr Nilofer Shaikh, vice chancellor of Shah Abdul Latif University in Khairpur. The Executive Board of National Fund for Mohenjodaro in its meetings held recently had decided to carry out repair work of the rest house at Mohenjodaro and undertake a topography survey of the site, the statement said.

Repair of the vehicle of Sir John Marshall – the former director-general of the Archaeological Survey of India who was responsible for the excavation that led to the discovery of Mohenjodaro – reprinting of the old and out-of-print books by him and setting up of a committee headed by the commissioner of Larkana for a tree plantation drive at the site had also been planned.

The board in its meeting also decided that the theft case of seals would be reopened.

Emergency measures for the coming monsoon, strengthening of a technical consultative committee, exploring possibilities of fund raising, encouraging students’ visits to Mohenjodaro, construction of public toilets, creation of a security set-up at the site and preparation of a master plan of the archaeological site would be carried out, the statement added.

The master plan of the archaeological site would cover all segments relating to the conservation, rehabilitation, maintenance, promotion of tourism, facilities for tourists / visitors, site management strategy, among other things, it was said in the statement.