LARKANA: United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres on Saturday visited the UNESCO world heritage archeological site Mohenjodaro damaged due to floods and heavy rains.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and UNESCO Islamabad Director also accompanied the UN chief who arrived to visit flood-affected areas in Sindh and Balochistan during a solidarity visit to the country.
Sindh Minister for Culture and Tourism Syed Sardar Shah briefed him about the preservation work of the Mohenjo Daro. The minister said the heritage site received 943 milimetres of rainfall in the past two months.
Earlier, UNESCO announced the mobilization of an emergency amount of 350,000 USD to help recovering flood-damaged cultural heritage sites. UNESCO released a statement stating it is deeply concerned by severe and unprecedented monsoon rainfall.
“First of all, our thoughts are with the families who have lost a loved one, the injured, all those who have been forced to leave their homes and with the authorities. UNESCO stands with them,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.
The statement said cultural heritages have been damaged by the floods including the archaeological ruins at Moenjodaro and historical monuments at Makli, Thatta, Karez in Balochistan, a traditional irrigation system on World Heritage Tentative List, Amri site museum, and Sehwan folk and craft museum, both in Jamshoro District, have also been reported as damaged by the recent floods.
Sindh Minister for Culture, Tourism and Antiquities @sardarshah1 briefs @UN Secretary General @antonioguterres during his visit to the World Heritage Site #MohenjoDaro . The SG accompanied to the site by 🇵🇰 Forigen Minister @BBhuttoZardari and CM Sindh @MuradAliShahPPP. pic.twitter.com/TrZYfzJmpv
— Culture, Tourism, Antiquities & Archives Dept, GoS (@Ministerculture) September 10, 2022
As part of its mandate, UNESCO said it will will provide assistance to restore this heritage. Based on needs analysis conducted by our office in Islamabad, it has decided to mobilize $350,000 from its heritage and emergency funds.
This includes $150,000 from the World Heritage Fund to support recovery and prevention measures at Moenjodaro and Thatta World Heritage sites, including long-term mitigation of the impact of natural disasters.
UNESCO will spend $200,000 from for cultural heritage, cultural practices and intangible heritage elements at risk in the Balochistan, Swat and Larkana districts.
It added that cultural practices, such as crafts and music, which are often an important source of income, have also been severely disrupted.
It said UNESCO activities will aim to support not only the national response plans but also the knowledge bearers, artisans, crafts people and artists who have lost their livelihoods due to the floods on the other.
The UNESCO office in Islamabad is also working with the authorities of Pakistan to rapidly provide distance learning solutions to ensure continuity of education.
UNESCO headquarters has already mobilized 50,000 USD to finance the actions will be implemented, in particular in the province of Sindh.
[embedpost slug=”un-chief-moved-by-generosity-of-flood-hit-pakistanis/”]
