Karachi The Sindh High Court was informed on Friday that not only were people taking away relics from the heritage site of the Chowkandi graveyard, but some “influential” ones had also recently buried their deceased relatives there. Qasim Ali Qasim, the archeology director and also the focal person of the culture and heritage department, in his comments told the court that his department had tried to stop those people from burying their relatives at the historical graveyard, but they were too forcibly managed to have their way. The court was hearing a petition against the setting up of encroachments at the graveyard and its lack of care. The archeology director submitted that there were no encroachments within the protected area of the graveyard. He added that the local administration had been requested to increase its vigilance to prevent anyone from vandalising the graveyard He told the court that his department was fully aware of the importance of the conservation of historical monuments and it had qualified archeologists, conservators and archeological engineers for this purpose. He added that the conversation of the Chowkandi tombs would be carried out in line with the conversation procedure prevalent worldwide. Regarding the preservation of the graveyard, he submitted that deterioration with the passage of time was a natural process, which could be reduced by taking preventive steps including day-to-day maintenance. He said an annual development programme scheme for the protection of archeological sites had been prepared and would be executed when the required funds were released by the authorities concerned. He submitted that emergency steps would be taken for the Chowkandi graveyard including setting up of a fence around the site. Qasim said he was in touch with the district administration for the removal of the encroachments set up beyond the limits of the protected monuments. The petitioner, Agha Syed Attaullah Shah, had submitted that the Chowkandi graveyard, located on the National Highway near Landhi, was a precious national heritage spread over almost 57 acres. He pointed out that it was the family graveyard of the Jokhio and Baloch tribes which lived in the area between the 15th and 18th centuries. Shah alleged that people were taking away carved stones from the graveyard to their homes to use them as decoration pieces. He added that influential people had encroached upon the graveyard land to build hotels, houses and offices, but the chief secretary, the culture secretary and the Malir Development Authority were taking no steps to stop these illegal activities. The petitioner also said the graveyard was in a dilapidated condition and the respondents were not performing their duties as required under the Sindh Cultural Heritage (Preservation) Act, 1994 and the National Fund for Cultural Heritage Ordinance 1994. He requested that the court should direct the government to ensure proper maintenance of the graveyard and the removal of encroachments from its land. The petitioner also submitted that the court had ordered that no illegal construction would be carried out at the graveyard but the respondents had not filed any comments or progress report in this regard. On the court’s directives regarding the original demarcation plan, culture, tourism and antique department special secretary Dr Abdul Karim Solangi submitted that the Malir deputy commissioner and the Karachi survey superintendent had been requested to carry out a survey. He submitted that the officers concerned had been directed to form a joint survey team along with revenue and archeological departments’ field staff for the measurement and demarcation of the site on an urgent basis. He added that the demarcation report would be submitted as soon as the field work was completed. Additional advocate general Miran Mohammad Shah undertook to issue written directives to the Malir deputy commissioner and the Karachi survey superintendent to conclude the survey and demarcation expeditiously and submit the report before the court within a month. An SHC division bench headed by Justice Nadeem Akhtar, granting time to the law officer, directed him to submit the report by March 24.
