Who's responsible for current state of Mohenjo Daro?

Did you know Pakistan has a queen who dates back to 3,000 BC? It is almost 5,500 years old. But we aren’t treating the queen too well and it is our fault that even nature doesn’t want this queen to remain among us, as the recent torrential rainfall has damaged it severely. We are talking about Mohenjo Daro — known as the queen of heritage sites around the world.

Mohenjo Daro is a 5,500-year-old heritage site in the world. It is referred to as the "queen site" as no other example of a civilisation's planning and administrative capability has been found in any of the archaeological discoveries in the world.

Mohenjo Daro remains severely impacted by the monsoon rainfall followed by flooding in Sindh which began in July. However, natural calamity alone cannot be held responsible for the heritage site’s present deteriorating condition. To find out what happened and assess the damage, Geo News' teams recently visited Mohenjo Daro.

Around the world, there are many other heritage sites like Mohenjo Daro such as Polynesia’s Easter Island and Peru’s Chan Chan, which remain prone to natural disasters; however, support from global organisations and regular maintenance by the government can lessen the damage due to the calamities. Sadly, however, the contrary is happening in Mohenjo Daro.

International organisations provide billions of dollars for the preservation of archaeological sites around the world and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has also established the National Fund for Mohenjo Daro, which has provided millions of dollars since its inception in the 1990s.

According to international law, experts are appointed to protect and preserve archaeological structures. From bricks to preservatives, everything needed for the restoration of the structure’s broken part must be genuine. However, Mohenjo Daro has been handed over to a contractor who has nothing to do with archaeology. 

The matter, however, doesn’t end here. The ignorance — toward the heritage site — has left no stone unturned while ruining the queen site, which has also been acknowledged by the provincial minister.

According to experts, poor management and handling of Mohenjo Daro by inexperienced people are the reasons which have reduced the queen site to merely a ruin. 

It may be possible to receive the answer to where the funds for the preservation of valuable heritage have gone, but it will still not answer for the current state of Mohenjo Daro.