FEROZKOH (Pajhwok): A delegation appointed by the Presidential Palace has decided to rehabilitate the Minaret province.
The minaret — nine metres thick and 63.3 metres high was built in 1194 during the kingship of Sultan Ghayasuddin Ghori. It is the second highest spire after the Qutb Minaret in New Delhi.
The Minaret of Jam, located in Ghor at the confluence of Harirud and Jam Rud rivers, was harmed as a result of flash floods last year. The damage sparked concerns.
In response to Ghor residents’ concern, President Ashraf Ghani tasked a delegation with assessing the historic site.
Hujatullah Mujaddedi, a member of the delegation, told Pajhwok Afghan News they had closely studied the area in two phases and decided on adoption of measures to prevent floodwater entering it.
Mujaddedi, who is also head of the media section of the Presidential Palace, said the second phase was the rehabilitation of the minaret — a process that would take time.
But Nazar Mohammad Saqib, the deputy director of information and culture, told Pajhwok the team arrived late in Ghor, as reconstruction work would yield no result in cold weather and snowfall.
Such decisions had been made several times in the past but practical work was yet to be initiated, he remarked. Apart from the minaret, he said, another 349 sites in the province were also on the verge of destruction.
But Nisar Ahmad, a civil society heritage site. Other activists held similar views.
Abdul Hai Khatibi, the governor’s spokesman, while welcoming the delegation, said that most of the historic sites were in a state of neglect.
“Many sites are at risk of destruction and we have shared the issue with the government several times. But no attention has been paid to their rehabilitation.”
Earlier, UNESCO allocated two million dollars for the rehabilitation of the Minaret of Jam. The government has also announced funds for the protection of the site.
sa/mud
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