Committee formed to probe collapse of Puqqa Qila’s main gate

HYDERABAD, Sep 05 (APP):The 5-member committee constituted to probe the collapse of Puqqa Qila’s main gate along with its structure has accused the contractor and a lack of coordination between the contractor and the concerned department as the cause of the incident.

The four-page inquiry report held the contractor Waliullah Bhutto and his son Saddam Bhutto responsible and called for action against them under the Antiquities Act, 1975.

The committee was headed by Director Sindh Museum Sher Muhammad Mahar with Naseem Akhtar Jalbani, Sindhu Chandio, Sarfaraz Jatoi and Muhammad Tanvir as its members.

According to the report, Sindh Culture, Tourism, Antiquities and Archives Department had awarded contract for conservation of the fort’s fortification wall, Mir Haram and the main entrance gate to Bhutto’s company.

Meanwhile, the Planning, Development, Monitoring and Implementation Cell (PDM&IC) of the department deputed resident engineer Nadeem Manzoor Shah to coordinate with the company.

It further stated that the Assistant Conservation Officer Naseem Akhtar Jalbani during her visit to the site had directed an engineer of the contractor’s company, Najam, to ensure underpinning to strengthen the foundation of the structure.

But Jalbani said Najam did not give a proper response and on September
1 she briefed the department’s Director General Manzoor Kanasro about ‘undesired’ work being conducted at the fort.

“Consequently, since the interconnected wall of the main gate was being demolished, cracks appeared on the gate, it lost is strength and collapsed,” the report adds.

“All the state of affairs reflected that the contractor wasn’t carrying out the work as per the work order but was doing such works on his own without seeking proper consultation from any superior officer, professional or archaeologist,” it underlined.

In a letter dated January 7, 2021, Shah wrote to the department’s DG that due to dangerous condition of the main gate, necessary repair and preservation work has to be carried out and he also suggested demolition of the gate in the same letter.

The DG was also approached by the Director PDMIC who suggested erecting a parapet wall near the office block and Mir Haram to keep the construction material safe inside.

However, he also did not get a response from the DG and the boundary wall could not be built.

The antiquities officials also contacted the district administration to kickstart an anti encroachment drive outside the fortification wall and to provide police protection to the workers.

The committee put forward that the contract awarded to Wali-Ullah Bhutto and his son Saddam Bhutto should immediately be cancelled.

“ There is no term for demolishing protected heritage existed in the Antiquities Act, 1975,” the recommendations read, adding that action should be taken against the contractors.

The committee also proposed that the other contractors executing projects of preservation should seek guidance from archaeologists for their works.
The members suggested that contractors should be under obligation to share the conservation plan with the relevant officers and that only skilled labour with previous work experience at the heritage sites should be hired.

The committee noted that drainage of all the residential and commercial units located inside the fort passed through the foundation of the main gate and the fortification wall which were under constant threat.

The committee asked the government to approach the concerned department for preparing an alternate drainage system.

The members also sought removal of commercial encroachments along the fortification wall.