Home > Pakistan News & Library > Use of poor material taints glory of historic mosque
 DADU: Experts and academician have expressed dissatisfaction on quality of restoration and renovation work of Khudaabad mosque and said use of cement and modern building material has defaced the grandeur of the 17th century edifice.
Fatah Daudpoto, an expert of surface decoration of architectural heritage and teacher of visual arts at the Centre of Excellence Art and Design, Jamshoro told Dawn on Wednesday that the government was incompetent to undertake work of restoration of art, craft and heritage because it lacked proper skills and honesty.
He said that finance was not a big matter, successive governments had released huge funds several times, which went down the drain because of officials’ incompetence.
Highly skilled craftsmen were required to conserve Khudaabad Mosque with the original material, design and aesthetics but the government officials were callously using cement, a modern material, in preservation of the mosque, he said.
He said that it had defaced the original tiles lavishly adorned with fresco painting in the name of preservation. The first phase of conservation involved documentation of the site, drawings of the plan, layout, alleviation and surface decoration followed by development and construction work, he said.
Mian Amir Bux Kalhoro, chairman of the Yadgar committee of Mian Naseer Mohammad, Yar Mohammad Kalhoro shrines, said the preservation work lacked expertise and it had destroyed surface decorations of fresco and tiles and completely destroyed the tombs.
He said the government machinery had not followed the original design of the mosque and use of cement instead of the original material had defaced its beauty.
Aijaz Qureshi, a resident of Khudaabad town, said that the mosque had three main domes, one collapsed in 1994-95 rains and the remaining two sustained damage.
The government recently dismantled all domes in a bid to reconstruct them but the constructed domes were different in shape and design, he said.
Ms Naseem Jalbani, research officer at Sindh Museum and supervisor of Khudaabad mosque conservation work, said that total cost of the project was Rs28 million, of which Rs18 million were for conservation and the rest for development works. The finance department released the amount in June 2009.
She said the main dome, which collapsed during 1994-95 rains had been restored and work on repairs of the 21 other small domes was going on. In early 1970, the mosque’s tiles were replaced and substandard material was used, she said, adding that the department was in search of artisans who could reproduce actual designs on the surfaces.
Culture dept defends restoration work
A spokesman of Sindh Museum, culture department, has said that restoration and conservation work on the historical Khudaabad mosque is in progress since May 2009 under the supervision of a technical committee, comprising renowned archaeologists.
He said in a statement that the project would cost Rs28.8 million and Rs5.7 million had been spent on it so far.
The spokesman said that although the federal archaeology department was responsible for preservation and upkeep of the mosque, keeping in view the importance of the historical monument, the culture department had undertaken the task.
He said that special-size bricks and indigenous Kashi tiles had been prepared for the mosque.
In addition to restoration of the mosque, he said, the area around it was being developed and protected from encroachments.
He said that recently the administrative control of 128 archaeological sites and historical monuments, declared protected sites under the Antiquity Act, had been transferred from the federal to the Sindh government.
He said that a board of management had been constituted with Sindh Culture Minister Sassui Palijo as its chairperson to look after the sites and undertake their survey, documentation, preservation and restoration. |
