A sinking namesake: Ghani Dheri lies abandoned as K-P celebrates poet’s centenary

The building was constructed 14 years ago but has not become operational due to structural flaws.

PESHAWAR:

Even as painting exhibitions and poetry recitals are being arranged to commemorate the centennial of famous progressive Pashto poet Ghani Khan; Ghani Dheri, the only institution named after the great wordsmith, lies in ruins. 

Ghani Dheri complex – a library and mushaira hall – was constructed in 2000-2002 in the poet’s native district, Charsadda, at an estimated cost of over Rs4.19 million. The library building is said to be constructed by the Communication and Works (C&W) department on alluvial soil and without a proper foundation.

Bureaucrats have sunk millions into the project as the building keeps sinking deeper into the ground because of the poorly-laid foundation.

Insiders familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune that after the faults in construction became obvious, officials prepared a Project Cycle (PC1) report to the tune of Rs16.36 million in 2008-2009. Of this, the then provincial government approved Rs10 million, with an immediate allocation of Rs4 million for repairs.

Earlier in 2008, the provincial minister for archaeology visited the site, after which Rs 1 million was allocated for rehabilitative work. The federal ministry of culture also apportioned the same sum for the same purpose.

The archaeology ministry prepared three PC1s for the repair and reconstruction of Ghani Dheri, worth Rs24.7 million, Rs22 million and Rs29 million to be allocated between 2008 and 2010.

Amid the flurry of PC1s, former provincial secretary of culture Azam Khan paid a visit to the site. After witnessing the condition of Ghani Dheri, Khan ordered no more funds be allocated for the faulty structure. He directed the Ghani library be shifted to the adjacent Pushkalawati Museum, the construction of which had cost Rs27 million. The museum, which is situated on Charsadda-Rajar Road adjacent to Ghani Dheri, also faces some serious seepage, shared an official at the archaeology directorate.

He added the current Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa archaeology director also visited the site, considered a fiscal sinkhole. The director then decided against taking over the building of Ghani Dheri from the Communication and Works department.

Even though an enquiry was initiated regarding the construction of the building, insiders say no action was taken. The person said to be behind “this mess” is allegedly a senior C&W official from an influential political family of Charsadda.

“An enquiry was launched but nothing came out of it, it just remained buried under a well-stacked pile of files,” he claimed.

Fourteen years since its construction, the building remains a fiscal sinkhole; even now, its library remains at the leaky Puskalawati Museum. The museum itself was constructed with the aim of displaying artefacts from Charsadda or Pushkalawati as the district was known when it served as Gandhara’s capital in 6 BC.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th, 2014.