By Staff Reporter

Date:01-11-06

Source: Dawn

LAHORE, Oct 31: Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi said on Tuesday Punjab was ready to take possession of all historical monuments here and would invest as much as was required to preserve them.

He was speaking at a ceremony at the Lahore Fort during which Unesco handed over Shish Mahal, Royal Kitchen, Akbari Gate and the Picture Wall to the provincial government upon the completion of a project of their restoration. The project was funded by Norway, and has been completed by Unesco and the federal government.

Norwegian ambassador Jonis Bjorn Kanavin, Unesco Director in Pakistan Jorge Sequeira and Programme Officer Ms Farhat Gul and Information Secretary Taimur Azmat Osman also spoke on the occasion.

The chief minister said the province had expressed its willingness to take over all the monuments here from the federal government. I understand that the federal culture minister has recently taken a decision in this regard in principle, he said.

He said once these monu ments were transferred, the province would leave no stone unturned in looking after them. It would also continue to seek the support of Unesco and all others interested in advancing help. “I think the most important contribution which our foreign friends can make is towards technical assistance,” he said.

The chief minister appreciated Unesco for making a master plan for the restoration of the Lahore Fort and Shalamar Gardens. As a result, he said, a sum of Rs 300 million each had been earmarked for the total conservation and rehabilitation of both these monuments in eight years.

“Implementation of these investment plans would be overseen by a steering committee having representation of Unesco, experts and prominent citizens.” The chief minister said the fort was a world heritage site which was unfortunately placed on the list of endangered monuments. The provincial government`s foremost concern was to get the fort off this infamous list and win back its status of a site of outstanding universal significance.

He appreciated the assistance by the government of Norway for the Lahore Fort project. The establishment of documentation centre and training of staff in graphic and photographic documentation had been a big achievement of the project.

The chief minister said it was perhaps for the first time in the history of Pakistan that conservation interventions were being made in a scientific and systematic manner. And Unesco support in this regard was of immense value. The chief minister said lack of skills to look after the cultural heritage had been a problem in Pakistan.And the project also provided an opportunity to revive the building crafts of the fort through reorganization of the craft workshops.Through the project master trainers and trainees were produced, also giving them incomegenerating opportunities.

The Norwegian ambassador said that funds provided by his government had been properly utilised by a good team. Cultural heritage was not a luxury, it was a necessity because it was linked to one`s identity. People had the right to have access to their history, he said.