Renovation, beautification of Mazar-e-Quaid almost complete

Father of the nation will be paid homage on his birth anniversary

KARACHI:

Work to renovate, repair and polish the marble of the dome and stairs of Mazar-e-Quaid has entered the final stage.

During the past few weeks, the polishing of silver nets around the grave, colouring of the central doors and trimming of the plants have been completed while the cleaning of the 80-feet chandelier, hanging from the ceiling right above the grave the father of the nation is also being done. The chandelier is a symbol of Pakistan-China friendship.

As happens every year on December 25, there will be a special ceremony in which the guards at the mausoleum will be changed in the presence of the Sindh Governor and Chief Minister. Other important personalities will also be present on the occasion.

The maintenance at the Mazar-e-Quaid continues throughout the year. However, special arrangements and renovation work take place close to the Quaid's birth anniversary.

In accordance with this year's anniversary celebrations, the ongoing renovation work was completed on Thursday while the cleaning work of the 80-feet long lantern, a symbol of Pakistan-China friendship, was started.

According to Aleem Sheikh, the resident engineer at Mazar-e-Quaid, the work of maintenance, repairs and decorations continues throughout the year. However, special arrangements in this regard are made and the pace of work speeds up on the occasion of national festivals.

The biggest task in this regard is the repair and maintenance of the 72-metre diameter dome. Due to extreme seasons, repair and washing of dome joints continues throughout the year.

He said that an ornate chandelier has been placed above the grave, on which eight-and-a-half kilogrammes of gold has been coated. Its cleaning and polishing work is also given special priority.

According to Sheikh, the first chandelier was given as a gift by the Muslims of China in 1971, while the recently installed chandelier was installed by the people of the Republic of China in 2017.

The work of polishing and painting of the silver carved lattices around the grave and the decorated copper and wooden lattices installed on the four doors of the Mazar is also going on.

The cleaning the white marble fixed in front of the mausoleum, trimming of the plants, cutting the grass, and painting the central doors is also going on.

On the occasion of the special day, pleasant new flowers and plants of various types of chrysanthemums have also been planted on both sides of the greenery and gardens of Mazar-e-Quaid.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2022.