Experts oppose festival at Pakistani ancient site

[Buster's Uncle]

Experts oppose festival at Pakistani ancient site
Associated Press
By ADIL JAWAD  January 31, 2014 2:26 PM



In this Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014 photo provided by Bilawal House, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, second from left, son of Pakistan's assassinated Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto visits the site of Sindh Cultural Festival in ruins of Mohenjodaro in Pakistan. A plan by Bilawal to hold a cultural festival at an ancient site in southern Pakistan has sparked controversy, with several leading archaeologists saying Friday it could damage the ruins. (AP Photo/Bilawal House)



KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — A plan by the son of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto to hold a cultural festival at an ancient site in southern Pakistan has sparked controversy, with several leading archaeologists saying Friday it could damage the ruins.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is spearheading the event to be held Saturday at Mohenjodaro, where one of the largest settlements of the Indus Valley civilization existed thousands of years ago, as part of efforts to publicize the southern Pakistani region of Sindh's rich cultural heritage.

But the plans sparked controversy with experts who fear the stage and other infrastructure needed to host the event could damage the delicate mud ruins that are already suffering from water and salinity damage.

"It is nothing but insanity" said respected archaeologist Asma Ibrahim, who is a member of the Management Board for Antiquities and Physical Heritage of the Sindh government. She said the chairman of the board sent a letter to the provincial government to draw attention to their concerns about the festival.

She said the stage and sound and light show could damage the delicate walls of the ruins.

Another senior archaeologist who heads the University of Punjab's archaeology department said he was not attending the festival in protest.



In this Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014 photo provided by Bilawal House, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, third from left, son of Pakistan's assassinated Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto visits the site of Sindh Cultural Festival in ruins of Mohenjodaro in Pakistan. A plan by Bilawal to hold a cultural festival at an ancient site in southern Pakistan has sparked controversy, with several leading archaeologists saying Friday it could damage the ruins. (AP Photo/Bilawal House)


"I am very sad over what they are going to do there in the name of a cultural festival," said Farzand Masih.

But local authorities in the Sindh government who are arranging the festival say there is no risk to the ruins. A provincial archaeology official, Qasim Ali Qasim, says he is supervising arrangements for the festival to make sure no harm is caused to the site. In a statement Zardari said he had personally visited the site Thursday. He said every step is being taken to protect the site, and people will not be allowed to roam freely over the ruins.

Mohenjodaro, which is listed on UNESCO's list of world heritage sites, was built from unbaked brick in the 3rd millennium BC, according to the organization's website. Excavations since 1922 have uncovered only one-third of the site. A UNESCO campaign ending in 1997 raised money to protect the site from flooding and to control the ground-water table.

The 25-year-old Zardari is the head of the Pakistan People's Party which was headed by his mother until her death in a gun and bomb attack in 2007. His father served one term as the country's president but it has been the younger Zardari who has become the public face of the party. The festival is seen as part of efforts to raise the younger Zardari's profile on the national political stage.

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On the web: http://unesco.org.pk/culture/moenjodaro.html


http://news.yahoo.com/experts-oppose-festival-pakistani-ancient-153846894.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Hundreds swarm ancient Pakistan ruins for grand cultural gala
AFP
February 1, 2014 3:35 PM



Lights illuminate the ancient ruins of Moenjodaro, the UNESCO World Heritage site, on February 1, 2014  (AFP Photo/Asif Hassan)



Moenjodaro (Pakistan) (AFP) - Hundreds of people swarmed the ancient ruined city of Moenjodaro Saturday to attend an inaugural festival commemorating Pakistan's cultural heritage, days after experts warned the event endangered the UNESCO site.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto opened the two-week festival, which is part of a campaign to conserve the heritage of his home province of Sindh.

"We need to urgently raise funds to preserve Moenjodaro," he said in brief remarks inaugurating the event.

Experts warned on Thursday that the festival could put Moenjodaro, a UNESCO World Heritage site built around 2600 BC, in danger.

Large wooden and steel scaffolding has been erected over and around the ruin, which UNESCO describes as "the most ancient and best-preserved ruin on the Indian subcontinent", while heavy spotlights and lasers have been installed for a light show.

The site had been transformed into a high security facility, with hundreds of police commandos surrounding the ruins and stood atop the stupa, a Buddhist shrine, as workers hammered nails into a stage, an AFP reporter at the site said.



Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (C) arrives to attend cultural heritage festival at the ancient ruins of Moenjodaro, the UNESCO World Heritage site, on February 1, 2014 (AFP Photo/Asif Hassan)


"We have done all the work very much to international conservation standards," Saqib Soomro, a top official at the culture department, told AFP.

Zardari, clad in a black jacket over an off-white traditional Pakistani shalwar qameez dress, arrived Saturday in a caravan of four vehicles.

A number of foreign visitors, some wearing traditional Sindhi Ajrak outfits, were also among the approximately 1,000 guests waiting for the grand gala to begin.

Performers queued up to pass through security gates, with an equally large number of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) top leaders also waiting for entry.

The PPP, led by Zardari, suffered a heavy defeat in the 2013 general election and observers say the cultural gala, which has been advertised for weeks on national television, is partly aimed at raising the 25-year-old's political profile.

The ruins, discovered in 1922 by British archaeologist Sir John Marshall, are 425 kilometres (265 miles) north of the port city of Karachi and are one of the largest settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization.

They are one of Pakistan's six UNESCO World Heritage sites that are deemed places of special cultural significance.

But many of the country's historical sites are endangered by vandalism and urban encroachment, as well as a booming trade in illegally excavated treasures.


http://news.yahoo.com/hundreds-swarm-ancient-pakistan-ruins-grand-cultural-gala-203546039.html