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Maharaja Ranjit Singh's samadhi among 147
sites handed over to Archaeology Dept
WSN Network
 Lahore: Some good news comes from
Pakistani Punjab on the heritage front. At least 147 sites,
including the samadhis of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Kharak Singh and
Naunihal Singh in west Punjab have been handed over by the Federal
Archaeology Department (FAD) to the
(PAD), the Daily Times has reported.
A formal announcement would be made soon and the employees would
also be transferred with immediate effect. The PAD would set up
separate departments for museums and havelis.
The provincial government had been discussing the issue with the
federal government since 1984. On June 2, 2001, President General
Pervez Musharraf issued directives through the federal culture
secretary that all sites be handed over to the provincial
governments. Early in 2007, the Supreme Court of Pakistan also took
up the issue and ordered the removal of encroachments from Punjab’s
archaeological sites. The court also directed the FAD to hand over
these sites to the Punjab government. The Supreme Court decided in
favour of the provincial government because the sites looked after
by the FAD were in very dilapidated conditions. The court said all
encroachments at the sites or bordering them should be removed. A
team has been formed to this effect. Many people have been living in
some of the historical sites and they will be vacated soon, the
officials said. They said the government would give the people money
to shift elsewhere. The officials said that after these
encroachments were removed, the restoration work on the sites would
be launched and they would be banned for the public unless a large
number of workers were hired to guard them.
Among the notable sites among those handed over are Lala Rukh’s
Tomb, Begum Ki Sarai, Saidan Baoli, Hatti, Hakim’s Tomb, Chitti
Baoli, Attock Fort (all in Attock District), Abu Hanifa’s tomb, Uch
Sharif, Bibi Jawindi’s tomb (Bahawalpur District:), Ghazi Khan’s
Tomb, Akbari Baoli, Bahar Wali Baoli (Gujrat) Shahi Masjid, Shah
Burhan’ tomb (Bahawalpur), Ali Mardan’s tomb, Shalimar gardens, Old
Fort, Buddha Ka Awa, Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s tomb and residence,
Qutubuddin Aibak’s tomb, Nawab Bahadur Khan’s tomb, Jahangir’s tomb,
Noor Jahan’s tomb, Samadhi of Ranjit Singh, Kharak Singh and
Naunihal Singh, Anarakali’s tomb, Baradari and Samadhi of Sher
Singh, Badshahi Masjid, Wazir Khan mosque, (Lahore).
7 March 2007
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