Heritage sites in Pakistan ravaged by floods

Islamabad, August 31

Iconic vestiges such as the ‘Mound of the Dead’ in Mohenjo-Daro and Kot Diji, the last surviving bastions of the centuries-old Indus Valley Civilisation, situated in Pakistan’s Sindh province, were damaged by the unprecedented floods that have wreaked havoc across the country, a media report said on Wednesday.

According to the data released by the National Disaster Management Authority (NMDA), the toll in the floods in Pakistan touched 1,162 on Wednesday, with 3,554 injured and over 33 million displaced.

The Mound of the Dead, one of Mohenjo-Daro’s most iconic historical sites, and one of the few surviving bastions of the Indus Valley Civilisation, was covered in blue tarpaulin, as workers scrambled to prevent water from seeping down into the unexcavated part of the site. “Kot Diji has all but collapsed, as have the walls of Ranikot,” Hamid Akhund, the secretary of Endowment Fund Trust for the Preservation of Heritage of Sindh, said in the report.

“Whatever we have restored has been damaged. There is not a single place left in Sindh where heritage remains intact; be it Kot Diji, Ranikot, Shahi Mahal, White Palace, Faiz Mahal, the historic imam bargahs, bungalows or public dispensaries,” Akhund said. — PTI

Massive loss in Sindh province

• The Mound of the Dead, one of Mohenjo-Daro’s most iconic historical sites, was covered in blue tarpaulin, as workers scrambled to prevent water from seeping down into the unexcavated part
• In Larkana, which saw the heaviest rain in the region, the Shah Baharo and Tajjar buildings were inundated with water flowing from sewage lines
• The famous Mian Noor Mohammad Kalhoro graveyard (in Moro), along with several graves, including six tombs, have been deteriorated
• An ancient site at Kot Diji, is lying submerged under four to five feet of stagnant water.
• The Buddhist stupa at Thul Mir Rukan in Sindh province was partially damaged, while Makli monuments in Thatta and Banbhore also did not escape the fury of heavy rains