Located 316 miles (508 kilometers) from Karachi in the Indus River Valley, the World Heritage Site of Moenjodaro (also known as Mohenjodaro) was built during the Bronze Age about 5,000 years ago.
A letter signed by curator Isan Ali Abbasi and architect Naveed Ahmed Sangha and sent to UNESCO from the Department of Culture, Tourism and Archeology of Sin state said, “Unfortunately, we witnessed mass destruction in
The letter added that the site was being used as temporary accommodation for nearby residents whose homes were flooded.
“For humanitarian reasons, we have evacuated them to our quarters, car park, shop and the ground floor of the museum,” the letter explains.
An estimated one-third of Pakistan is now submerged by a combination of heavy monsoon rains and water from melting glaciers.
Most of the structures at Moenjodaro, discovered in the 1920s, are above ground and susceptible to environmental damage. Images included in a letter from the site’s guardians show a collapsed brick wall and a layer of mud covering the site.
The letter describes some of the immediate actions taken by field teams to mitigate flood damage.
Some walls collapsed in the flood.
Sindhi culture, tourism and ancient government
However, it is clear that these measures alone are not enough.
Abbasi and Sangah conclude the letter by requesting 100 million Pakistani rupees ($45 million) to cover the cost of complete repairs.
Sadly, Moenjodaro’s parents have long known that flooding could pose a serious risk to the site.
The importance of Moenjodaro as a historical and architectural site cannot be underestimated. When added to the UNESCO Register in 1980, the organization wrote that Moenjodaro “has an exceptional testimony to the Indus Valley civilization” and constitutes “the oldest planned city on the Indian subcontinent”. .
In its heyday, the city was a bustling metropolis. It contained a marketplace, public baths, sewers, and a Buddhist stupa, mostly built of tanned brick.
Workers rushed to cover the site with protective cover as much as possible.
Sindhi culture, tourism and ancient government
In a letter, Abbasi and Sangah expressed concern that Moenjodaro could be added to UNESCO’s list of endangered sites.
Source: www.cnn.com
