Saving the Sufi: Iranian expert to help with renovation of Lal Shahbaz Qalander’s shrine

The first phase of project is to be completed by the end of 2012.

KARACHI: The Sindh government has formed a two-member committee to monitor the renovation work at the shrine of Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan.

The decision to set up the committee was taken at a meeting at Chief Minister House on Thursday. The provincial minister for Auqaf, Muhammad Rafiq Banbhan, and the provincial minister for finance, Syed Murad Ali Shah, are the two members of the committee.

They will hold fortnightly meetings with the chief minister and inform him of the progress that has been made.

Banbhan told The Express Tribune that the frequent transfers of project directors working on the renovation of the shrine is a major reason behind the delays. “The project directors kept changing on a quarterly basis. I still can not understand who was responsible for the transfers,” he said. The project runs under the supervision of the works and services department.

“In a meeting which took place about a month ago, the country’s president voiced his displeasure at the delay in the renovation work and asked us rather forcefully why it had occured. He has given us until December 31, 2012 to complete the first phase,” said the auqaf minister.

Banbhan said that an Iranian consultant had been taken on board.

The consultant will provide technical assistance related to the redesigning of the shrine. The minister for Auqaf also said that a team of experts was taken to Sehwan to be guided by the Iranian expert. The cost of the renovation, which includes the construction of new dome, is Rs315 million. A consultant has been appointed and the designs have been approved. The formal inauguration of project will take place on June 30, 2012.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2011.