Moenjodaro under threat

SUKKUR: The Moenjo daro and Aamri archeological sites are under threat as a result of the floods, an antiquities official said Monday.

Moenjo daro is on Unesco’s list of the world heritage sites. Its website says the city was built of unbaked bricks in the third millennium BC and provides evidence of an early system of town planning.

Aamri, in the Dadu district of Sindh, has been declared a national heritage site.

“There is danger to the 5,000-year-old Moenjo daro and Aamri archeological sites,” said Kalimullah Lashari, chief of the provincial antiquities department.

“Aamri is exposed to greater danger because the river Indus flows along this ancient town. There is also a major canal and any overflow of water there would submerge this town,” he said. “There is already pressure on its banks and danger is severe.”

Flooding has affected one-fifth of the country and hit up to 20 million people, destroying crops, infrastructure, towns and villages. Flood waters in Sindh have inundated hundreds of villages and now also threaten its cultural heritage.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2010.