Proposals For Restoration Of 8 Monuments In South Punjab

MULTAN, (Muzaffargarh.City – 30th May, 2018 ) ::Archaeology department Multan has sentproposals to high ups for conservation and restoration of eightmonuments in South Punjab under annual development plan 2018-19.

According to initial assessment, the tentative cost forconservation of eight monuments would be around Rs 170 million,officials sources said.

The monuments included around two centuries old Harand fortin district Rajanpur, tomb of Hazrat Sheikh Ladhu in Muzaffargarh,the palace of Nawab Muzaffar Khan Saddozai in Shujabad (Multan),tomb of Shah Hussain Saddozai in Multan, tomb of Hazrat SheikhSaddan Shaheed in Muzaffargarh, tomb of Fateh Khan Joiya inFatehpur, tehsil Mailsi, district Vehari, shrine of Hazrat SultanManjhan in Muzaffargarh, and the tomb of king Tahir Khan Naharin Muzaffargarh.

Harand fort is located in district Rajanpur, about 60-kmwest of Jampur to Dajal town, on the border of Punjab andBalochistan. It is facing decay and the cost of the projecthas been assessed at around Rs 90 million.

The Fort was originally built opposite historic Chachar Passin Suleman Range. The fading signs of the edifice are still therein the form of debris and bricks scattered around the old site.

Sikh Governor Sawan Mal used the material of the old fort andrebuilt it on a new location in 1831. The fort had seen threedifferent periods including Hindu period, the Macedonian and theMuslim period.

The tomb of Hazrat Sheikh Ladhu belongs to Salateen periodand resembles with the tomb of Hazrat Bahauddin Zakariya Multani.

It is located about 20 km from Muzaffargarh toward north-west.

The project is proposed to be completed in two years andcost has been assessed at around Rs 15 million.

The palace of Nawab Muzaffar Khan Saddozai is decayinginside the historical fortification wall of Shujabad.

Shujabad fortification wall has already been conservedby 80 per cent and the rest left unattended due to encroachment.

The cost of the project has been assessed at around Rs 25million and it would be completed in two-year period subject tofinal approval by provincial government.

The shrine of Shah Hussain Saddozai is located near AbdaliMasjid, Multan. Shah Hussain Saddozai was the first amongSaddozai rulers to reach Multan in 1652.

He built a beautifulmosque and a palace called Shish Mahal which was surrounded bya garden in Multan city but it does not exist today.

The project, once approved, would complete in three yearsat a cost of Rs 9 million.

The tomb of Sheikh Saddan Shaheed is located about 35 kmfrom Muzaffargarh toward north, in a graveyard on the fringesof sand dunes in floody area. The saint buried here is said tobe a descendent from Tamim Ansari, one of the companions of theProphet (Peace Be Upon Him). His ancestors came to Multan withMuhammad Bin Qasim. The tomb stone on the grave indicates thatthe monument belong to Sheikh Saddan Shaheed (674 A.H.).

Tomb of Fateh Khan Joyia is located in Fatehpur village,tehsil Mailsi, district Vehari. The village is named after FatehKhan Joiya.

The cost of the project has been assessed at Rs 8 millionand once approved it would be completed in two years.

The tomb of Hazrat Sultan Manjhan is located in Muzaffargarhdistrict and resembles over 700 years old mausoleum of HazratBahauddin Zakariya in Multan.

It is located about 30 km from Muzaffargarh toward northin a village that is named after him as Manjhan Sultan.

In Seraiki language, people call buffalo as ‘Manjh” andthey believed that the saint had saved them from cattle lifters.

The proposed restoration would complete in a year and wouldcost around Rs 7 million.

The tomb of Tahir Khan Nahar, once the king of Seetpur,is located 120 km from Muzaffargarh city towards north, and 20kmfrom tehsil Ali Pur.

Entitled as `Sakhi’ or the liberal, Tahir Khan built thetomb and mosque at Seetpur in his life time at the close offifteenth century AD. In 1455 AD, Bahlol Khan Lodhi granted avast area to his relative islam Khan Lodhi. This tract comprisedwhat is now the southern part of Alipur tehsil, the southern partof Dera Ghazi Khan district and the northern part of Sind. IslamKhan took title of Nahar and established an independent kingdom.

Tahir Khan Nahar was his grandson who had extended the boundariesof his territory considerably.

The project, if executed after final approval from Punjabgovernment, would be completed in two years at a cost of aroundRs 7 million.