Swift action is needed to prevent decline and decay of Moenjo Daro before it is too late and the city is lost forever.
CHICAGO: The archaeological ruins of Moenjo Daro represent a unique masterpiece of human creative genius. Moenjo Daro, located about 400km from Karachi, has been declared by Unesco as a world heritage site. The city of Moen jo Daro flourished for about 800 years during the third and second millennia BC, in the centre of the Indus Valley Civilisation. It is living evidence of the earliest manifestation of urbanisation in the subcontinent. It is a vivid example of early town planning.
Moenjo Daro, since its excavation in 1922, has been threatened by saline action because of the rise in the water table of the Indus River. About two years ago, the control of the site was taken over by the Sindh government from the federal government. Since then, no work of conservation has been in progress at the site. Rather, its deterioration has been accelerated by holding the events of the Sindh Festival on top of the ruins. Constructing a stage on top of the ruins of Moenjo Daro, in my opinion, is a criminal act. Many archaeologists believe that this process will cause an irreversible damage to an already weakened foundation of this neglected site. The government of Pakistan needs to take swift action to stop this continuing damage and deterioration of the ruins.
The following measures must be taken: 1) all political activities should be banned at the site; 2) An inquiry should be initiated to gauge the damage caused by the activities of the Sindh Festival; 3) control of the site should be taken from the provincial government in order to take effective measures for conservation at the national level; 4) an international conference in collaboration with Unesco should be conducted to chart out a plan for the implementation of a conservation plan.
Swift action is needed to prevent the decline and decay of Moenjo Daro before it is too late and the city is lost forever. Moenjo Daro — the city of the dead — is a living testament to the creative genius of the advanced civilisation of the past. It must be preserved for future generations to admire it.
Dr A Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, February 4th, 2014.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
