keeping in view that the heritage site Mohenjo-Daro situated on the right bank of Indus River is facing the danger of obliteration after braving the monstrosity of recent flash floods and torrential rains, the administration on Sunday banned the entry of tourists to the place. The recent heavy spell of rains and concurrent floods which have ravaged large swathes of Sindh, have also taken a very heavy toll on the mounds and ruins of 5000-year-old historic city of Mohenjo-Daro. The authorities fearing its annihilation has put a ban on the entry of tourists to the place.
It is expected that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will visit the archeological site during his visit to Pakistan on Sept 11. In a statement, the UN said that Secretary-General Guterres will travel to Pakistan for a solidarity visit given the “tragic situation facing millions of men, women, and children impacted by historic floods.”
The Secretary-General is expected to arrive in Islamabad on Sept 9 and will then travel to the areas most impacted by the unprecedented climate catastrophe. He is expected to be back in New York on Sept 11 but before wrapping up his visit, he is also expected to visit Mohenjo-Daro. Mohenjo-Daro – a group of mounds and ruins on the right bank of the Indus River in northern Sindh – lies on the flat alluvial plain of the Indus, about 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Sukkur.
The site contains the remnants of one of two main centres of the ancient Indus civilization (c. 2500–1700 BCE), the other one being Harappa, some 400 miles (640 km) to the northwest in Punjab province. The historic site also called City of Dead has received torrential rains and floods in recent days. The department of archaeology has called for urgent attention towards its conservation and restoration work apprehending that the site may be removed from the world heritage list if such work was not carried out.—INP
